As a parent I've had my share of nightmares about my child's mortality and my inability to stop it from happening. In my nightmares, my daughter is usually a finger length away and as I go to grab her, the unthinkable happens and she's taken from me. I've learned that this is a part of parenting and how to deal with it although I must admit, these nightmares always leave me feeling very low.

Recently I've met a gentleman named Dave who's worse fears became reality as Dave is now the father to Michael who has become a shell of his former self. Justice for Michael is a very heart-wrenching tale of peer pressure, irresponsibility and bad luck, all of which combined to change Michael and Dave's lives forever.

This is Michael and Dave's story:

On June 7, 2005, my 14-year old son, Michael, was the victim of what is referred to as a near- drowning on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, FL.  He had stopped breathing and was in cardiac arrest. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Deputy Jeff Morgan of the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department, Michael was resuscitated. He was flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola via Lifeflight.  He was placed on a ventilator and emergency personnel at the hospital rushed to save his life.  A routine blood sample was taken to check for drugs or alcohol.  His blood alcohol reading came back at 0.32.  0.32 is unconscious, 0.5 is dead.

He was left with brain damage.  He cannot walk or talk. He is fed through a feeding tube surgically implanted in his stomach. He cannot do anything on his own. He is unaware of his surroundings. His body is deteriorating daily because he is bedridden.  He spent 5 weeks in the Pediatric ICU and 2 months in Atlanta for rehabilitation. 

Now where did the alcohol come from? We know part of the truth, but not all of it.  Arrests have been made and we are waiting for the trials.  The charges? Misdemeanors. Yes, that's right, my 14-year-old son was given alcohol and has suffered brain damage and the charges are misdemeanors.  Am I missing something here?

Furnishing alcohol to minors is a misdemeanor in the State of Florida. Look at the picture on the right and tell me this is a misdemeanor. Better yet, come over to my house and spend the week with us. Talk to him, knowing that he won't answer. Ask him to do something, knowing that he can't.  Give him formula through his feeding tube. Change his diaper.  Put on his leg and arm braces that combat atrophy. Load him into his wheelchair. He grew up in this house and now he does not even know that he is home. Watch my whole world lie in that bed wasting away. Watch me die a little more each day. Do these things and then tell me it is a misdemeanor.

One 16 year old is currently serving 6 to 9 months in a correctional facility for his part in this. This a slap on the wrist compared with the sentence that Michael is serving; Life. The parents and families of the other people responsible for this will have to live with this for the rest of their lives.  Just as I have to get up every day and accept the condition Michael is in, their parents have to accept what their children have done.  There are no winners here, we all lose.

I will be updating this site daily with Michael's condition if you care to check back.

Thank you so much for you words of kindness, prayers and emails. We are deeply touched.
Michael and Dave.

Visit the Justice For Michael website.

Copied with permission.

<<<Editors Note>>>

I usually filter emotion from articles published within the pages of lifesupporters.com but there are times when doing so removes the feelings felt by the original author. I feel Dave and his son have been through a lot and as such, have left the original article from Justice for Michael in tact, word for word. 

Justice for Michael Updates: Re-direct to the Justice for Michael Website to view current and past updates. Dave ads to the update page now and again with new information pertaining to Michael and the happenings in both of their lives. 

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