By Loretta Humble/Around the Town
I met Karen and Wren Michels in 2010, when they opened Peas in the Pod restaurant in Malakoff. The food was great, and I went there often. But I soon discovered it was just a front for what they were really doing. They were turning around and taking every penny they made and then some to feed and minister to people in need, with a clothes closet, food pantry, church services and a recovery program. We were all sorry when they closed. I don’t know for sure why, but I’m guessing they just gave till they couldn’t give any more.
They just couldn’t stop giving, so they set their sights on ministering abroad. They set goals of raising enough money so that every other year they could go and meet small needs of the neediest in the most remote areas of Africa. Karen says they knew they could do big things with little money but trusted that God could use that little money to make a big difference in a few villagers’ lives. Karen would research the place to go next, and find the cheapest tickets possible. They would save what money they could, gratefully accept gifts from family, friends and church members, then Wren would go to the bank and make a loan for the rest of what it took.
Karen says often when people go to foreign mission trips, the trip cost $3000 to $4000 dollars, and a fair amount of that goes to some tourist things, like safaris etc. Karen found out she could fund her own trip and have a lot more money to spend on projects there. This is Karen: “Through the support of many back home, we were blessed to help build a school/church House of Hope, benches, toilets, get electricity in a village church of the Nazarene and visit and feed countless teens, and children in different programs.” When she talks about it, Karen’s face lights up. You can tell how much she loves it.
In June of this year, Karen was in Zambia and in her glory. She was at the Chipongwe church of the Nazarene on a Sunday to witness the first use of the baptistry they had built for the church. That is when she got the phone call that turned her life and all her plans upside down.
Her son Jonathan had hit his head in a fall, and sustained severe brain damage. He had been rushed to the hospital and not expected to live. There was no flight till the next day, and her round-trip ticket was not good, and neither was her flight insurance.
When she arrived back home, she found him in intensive care, where he remained for the next six weeks. For all of that time, except when she was temporarily shut out (that is another story) she has been right by his side. There have been some rough spots along the way. Their situation made the news when Jonathan’s estranged wife wanted to have his life support removed and when Wren barred the door to keep the doctors from doing it. They had to go to court to gain custody. After six weeks the hospital gave him one week of rehab therapy and declared him stable and discharged him to his totally unprepared parents.
Jonathan is paralyzed on right side, unable to eat or drink. He has a peg tube where he receives his medications from 6 am until midnight and feeding four times a day. He’s incontinent. He seems to recognize his family and friends. He can answer some questions, says some words, gives high fives, fist bumps and counts. The hospital is giving them one month of home care. After that the Michels are on their own. Jonathan had no insurance, so there is absolutely no funding for anything. Not for the many expensive meds, not for all the medical supplies, such as diapers, wipes, ointments, gauze, and such, not for the supplement for tube feeding. Not to mention basic living expenses.
Karen accepts the responsibility without complaint. She is glad her son is alive. But she is dead tired. I visited them a couple of days ago. They have set Jonathan ’s hospital bed up in the living room of his neat little house in Log Cabin. Karen and Wren’s home is on the street behind Jonathan’s. Their back doors face one another, but I’m not sure Karen has been to her house since Jonathan has come home. And Jonathan’s water heater has gone out. His aunt offered to buy him another one, but Karen told to wait and see if somebody has a used one. I hope somebody does. It’s kind of bad for her to have to heat water to clean him up, and maybe she would even like to have a shower sometime.
If anybody ever deserved help, these folks do. They have been giving all their lives, and it is time they get given to. I sure mean to do my part. There is a GoFundMe account opened for Jonathan Michel, which is an easy way to, but they do require a small percentage of your gift. I recently learned that you can send money directly through Facebook with no charge, and all reports I can find say it is safe. I tested it and it worked. Tomorrow I am going to Karen and Wren’s bank, Citizen’s National and open an account for them by making the first deposit. Maybe other people will set up other ways to donate.
Many people on Medicare are sent more diapers and underpads than they need. The same with the nutritional tube feeding drinks. I’ve heard of people feeding the surplus to their cats. Let’s look for those unused, unneeded supplies and collect them for Jonathan. That is one way to make a big difference without spending a penny. Also, they could use a bunch of twin bed sheets and more towels and washcloths. They need a lot of other stuff, but I’m out of room, so I’ll tell you more next week.