Mike & Lori’s

Story

Mike’s Story

In life, we encounter many forks in the road that forever change our lives. Some for the good. And some for the worse. You can call it fate. You can call it destiny. OR you can call it, God’s plan.

My story begins on November 30th, 2022. My life was altered; but not only my life, the lives of my wife, my children, my parents, my brothers, my sisters, my friends, and my co-workers. On this winter night, I was involved in a UTV (off-road Razor) accident. I was ejected from the UTV and the impact was so violent that from the initial X-rays, the doctors thought my C5 and C6 severed my spinal cord. In the early hours of December 1st, I was taken in for emergency surgery to stabilize me and ‘set’ my head. My doctor knew that this wasn’t going to be the only surgery that I would need but his priority that night was one thing……to keep me alive.I stayed in the intensive care unit for 12 days until one of God’s many miracles was answered. On December 12th, 2022, I was admitted and transferred to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Englewood, CO; knowing that I would need a 2nd surgery which was scheduled on December 23rd. And did I mention the doctor on call that night in November, Dr Syre, is considered one of the best, if not the best, neurosurgeons in Colorado. He is also the doctor that performed my 2nd surgery. Let me pause here and take you back to the summer of 2021. God set into motion the bond between the Pszanka family and the McGraw family through prayer. The Resurrection Christian Girls basketball team was in an awful auto accident. The Pszankas heard of this story from a high school friend through Facebook and started to pray. Caz McGraw and her family were one of those families. God has a plan. He always does.

Stop here and go back a few months before Caz’s accident. On April 15, 2021, Lori Ann McGraw was in a horrific accident and sustained a spinal cord injury. Throughout Lori’s journey, she never wavered from God. She had some serious conversations, and questions but always knew there was a purpose for her pain. She was guided through prayer to help others by establishing a nonprofit foundation to help spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Her vision showed her L, A, M…..LAM Foundation. She always thought LAM stood for her initials, Lori Ann McGraw. The LAM Foundation didn’t happen right after that fateful night back on April 15, 2021 as Lori was paralyzed from the neck down.

Fast forward to October 2021. I had just moved the family from Rapid City, SD to Berthoud, CO. Our kids were 4, 6, 11, and 13 at the time (the other 4 were already out of the house.....yes, we have 8 kids). The following year, Fall 2022, our 13 year old son is now a 14 year old freshman. He starts dating a sophomore named Caz. Get this, Caz is the daughter of Lori McGraw. Pszankas and McGraws still have not met, but Caz was the one we prayed for a year and half ago, never meeting her or Brett and Lori.

So, on that night, November 30, 2022, I joined a fraternity that no one wants to be a part of, but here are Lori Ann McGraw and Mike Pszanka forever joined.The Pszankas and McGraws friendship and bond grew even stronger after my accident. And it was then that God made it very clear to Lori. It's not the initials of Lori Ann McGraw that form the LAM Foundation. It's the initials of Lori And Mike that form LAM!

My journey and recovery continue. I was a quadriplegic for a period of time after that night on November 30, 2022. The doctors and nurses were preparing Mickie and me for what our new life would be. But again, my God is big, and they must not know my God. He performs miracles every day. It just seems that sometimes we're too busy to see them. Or give credit where credit is due. I can go on and on about God's miracles in my story, so let me share just one more. My journey has many days and nights that I never wish to relive but also, many miraculous days and nights. I'll never forget this one particular Friday night, January 27th, 2023. Still at Craig, a nurse from the other wing, on another floor, was filling in and making her rounds. I still needed a nurse (or Mickie) to turn me to avoid getting bed sores and all the other stuff that goes along with being paralyzed. So this nurse enters my room. With Mickie at my side, this nurse proceeds to "do her thing".....check my skin and go through the normal protocol and then proceeds with the assessment, the questions.....can you feel this, can you move that. My typical and pre-recorded response was, "Nope, I can't feel that nor move this." So this nurse said, " Well, let's try it anyway. Try moving your right big toe." So I proceeded to try as I've done countless times before. But this time was different. Did I tell you God performs miracles! I moved my right big toe! And no, it wasn't a spasm. Of course, tears are running down my face, Mickie's face, and even the nurse's face. Fast forward a few minutes, and the nurse asked if she could pray for us. She prayed the most beautiful prayer as our tears weren't tears of sadness or sorrow but tears of hope and Joy. Now you are probably wondering why I'm always referring to the nurse as "this nurse". Well, this nurse, her name is Joy. And God didn't send Joy down from heaven to perform a miracle. No, God sent Joy over from the 4th floor, from another wing, to witness HIS miracle and to deliver a message of hope and JOY to Mickie and me. I'm still on this journey, but I walked out of Craig on February 8, 2023.

The LAM Foundation is a faith-based foundation dedicated to helping SCI patients like Lori and me. We want to help those who can't afford surgeries, therapies, treatments, medical supplies, pay for things their health care or insurance doesn't, and the list goes on and on.

No one wanted to be in this fraternity. No one signed up for this. It sucks. It's hard. It's emotional. It's real. Yet, here we are. Trust in God. HE is always faithful. HE is always loving. HE is all powerful and mighty. And HE is still performing miracles!

-Mike Pszanka