Michael Bartolo, Afghan War Hero was critically injured on September 6th 2013 in motorcycle accident.  He suffered multiple injuries and a traumatic brain injury which has left him in a minimally conscious state. He is unable to walk or talk and requires constant nursing care. 

Monday, September 6, 2021

 

UPDATE – MONDAY 9-6-21 – Today marks the 8th Anniversary of the date of Michaels Accident. It has been a long and difficult road for Michael. He continues to battle to recover. Overall Michael's health has remained well. He has had a few bumps in the road, however he has managed to recover. His Mom, brother and I remain vigilante in our belief that he will regain some form of communication. He is certainly more aware than any doctor predicted that he would be. He aware and reacts to new visitors. He continues to appear that he is attempting to speak. He definitely lets his Mom know if he is unhappy by moaning loudly and by turning his head away when she attends to his daily oral hygiene and when she shaves him. All great signs to us that he is definitely in there, he just needs to find way through. 

There have been several recent new changes for Michael, my wife and me. As a result of COVID, we noticed a dramatic change in the quality of Michaels daily care. Because we were not able to be with Michael daily, we witnessed a steady decline his daily hygiene and overall care via brief facetime calls a few times a week. Also because of they stopped all therapy for him. When we were finally allowed to visit once a week for him 30-minutes, we were treated like Michael was not a patient, more like he was inmate. Because of ridiculously strict COVID restrictions we had to wear masks and stay 6 feet away from him even with my wife and I fully vaccinated, while at the same time nurse’s aides could be right next to him, many of whom had no vaccinations. If we were to get closer, we were scolded by the same aides. Further aggravating us both. As a result, we made the decision to relocate Michael to a facility that would provide better care and continue his therapy.  Through a very diligent research effort by my wife, she found a Long-Term Nursing facility that focuses on TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) therapy, located in Freehold New Jersey. We applied and Michael was accepted. This now meant that we needed to relocate as well. Thankfully after a very long and difficult search we were very fortunate to find a home close enough to Michael, so we continue to take him home for daily short stay visit with us. We found a house in Aberdeen NJ and even more fortunate right around the corner from our son Anthony’s house. So we sold our home in Staten Island and now we are only 10 miles from Michael and steps away from Anthony and our Grand kids. We are both so happy we made the move, as the neighborhood is so nice and quiet as well.

We relocated Michael on June 10th and settled him in. The facility has already started basic therapy and allows us to pick him up daily from 11:00 am to 5:00 PM. The facility is very nice and extremely attentive to Michael. So far, we are pleased and just pray that with his therapy continuing once again and that new facility will help to make the quality of Michaels Life better.

As always, we Thank Everyone for Your Thoughts and Prayers

Regards

Mom and Dad Bartolo