Mike Taylor

My name is Teri Taylor. Our fourteen year old son, Mike, was born with Intestinal Lymphangiectasia (IL), which is an incurable life-threatening illness.


Mike is treated by going to the hospital every three weeks to receive infusions of albumin and calcium. He has had seven surgeries and over 200 infusions!
Mike will need these infusions, or what he calls "tune ups", for the rest of his life in order to stay alive! IL is so rare, that we have only found 14 patients, like Mike, in the world!


Children's Hospital Central California has helped us to set up this web site. We are seeking doctors who have treated IL or patients with IL in order to find new treatment options or even a cure!


Mike has a wonderful positive attitude and he tries to live a normal life, even though he spends 30 days a year at the hospital. He is a ninth grader who loves to play soccer and is helping to raise money for our local Children's Hospital.


We are asking everyone to sign our guestbook and to pass Mike's Story along to everyone in your address book. (Even though you may not know of someone with IL, you could be the link that leads us to our goal!) Mike is our borrowed angel and we would like to keep him for a long time. Wouldn't it be great, if together, we find a cure for Mike!

Our heartfelt thanks to each of you who are helping us in this way. We appreciate all of the prayers and kind words of encouragement. We are so grateful to have such wonderful family and friends!

Best Wishes,
Teri, Ken, Joe, Brian, Steve and Mike




Iron Mike Song







MIKE'S SOCCER ARTICLE October 2006

Karl Dewazien, CYSA State Coaching Director, put Mike's Story and "Iron Mike" Song on his web site. If you would like to see it, just go to:

www.fundamentalsoccer.com


MIKE WAS ON WORLD TALK RADIO!!

Brian (Doc) Halliday interviewed Mike about soccer and he was able to share his story. It was heard in 35 countries, around the world! We are hoping that a doctor or patient who knows something more about Intestinal Lymphangiectasia (IL), will hear the show and contact us.

If you would like to hear the show, just go to:

http://www.worldtalkradio.com/show.asp?sid=26

look under - recent shows and click on Inside Soccer on 2006-04-29. Then click on segment 11 and you can listen!



Some of my favorite links are:

www.findinggodinautism.com
www.BurpieBabies.com


Here are a few of Mike's friends that you may want to visit and leave a kind word of encouragement.

http//www.caringbridge.org/visit/darla

www.christopherdiamond.co.uk
http://www2.caringbridge.org/ca/dannymunster
http://www2.caringbridge.org/ca/parkerfritsch




THANK YOU to Long's Drugs Stores for putting up the "Iron Mike" donation boxes for Children's Hospital! This was Mike's idea and we are so proud of him! He wants to help raise money for the other children at the hospital. Please stop by any of the 19 Long's Stores and drop your change in the box!
Way to go Mike!

Journal

Thursday, October 23, 2008 2:52 PM CDT

Hi Everyone,

Hope all is well with you!

Mike is doing well. He will be going in for his "tune up" this weekend. He had a little bug bite on his finger and his whole hand and forearm turned red and became swollen. He got a fever of 102 degrees so he went in to the doctor. He put him on Benedryl and antibiotics and he is doing much better.

In the past, Mike has had to go into the hospital for 10 days of IV antibiotics to treat his celulitis, so we were very grateful that he was able to fight it off more easily this time.

Mike is reffing soccer games now! He couldn't make a team because of the lymphadema in his legs, but this put him back in the game that he loves! He dresses out in his referee uniform and is really enjoying being back on the field. He is saving all of his paychecks because he wants to be a doctor!

I am so proud of Mike. Whatever challenges have come along with his disease, he always finds a way to win! He is limping sometimes now, but never complains. Amazing!

Best wishes,

Teri, Ken, Joe, Brian, Steve and "Iron Mike"

Hospital Information:

Patient Room: Craycroft

Children's Hospital Central California
9300 Valley Children's Place
Madera, CA. 93638-8762
(559) 353-3000

Links:

E-mail Author: Taylor.Theresa@comcast.net