Mike Hinshaw was pulled from a fire at his home early in the morning on Sunday, June 29th, 2008. Six weeks in the hospital sent Mike, his family, and friends on an up-and-down journey. They experienced the toll that a fire and long-term hospitalization have on body, mind, and spirit.
Unconscious for most of it, as nurses and doctors helped Mike to fight life-threatening smoke inhalation injuries and heal from burns to 20 percent of his body, he contracted ventilator-acquired pneumonia (VAP)--twice, fought off a staph infection on his face, and lost a huge percentage of his muscle mass.
Mike's daughter GerRee began this blog believing it would be the easiest way to catch him up on the days he would miss while unconscious in the hospital. As days turned into weeks, Mike's sister Dixie began to blog as well, with beatiful contributions from other family and friends along the way. Phoenix Rising came to serve as a hub of communication for keeping a concerned community informed and connected.
As Mike put his life back together again, his recovery has been nothing short of a miracle. It has not been easy, and it has not been quick. But thanks to the firefighters at Fort Worth Station No. 19, an amazing Burn Unit staff at Parkland Memorial, the prayers, love, and generosity from friends, the grace of God and a whole lot of plain ol' fashioned luck, the tale of rising from the ashes is his to tell. If you'd like to get in touch with Mike, please feel free to comment on this blog or send an email to hinshawrising at gmail dot com.
A THANK YOU FROM THE FAMILY: To all of you who prayed for Mike, took his name into your churches and prayer circles, reached out to him and contributed to his Hinshaw Rising fund, we are forever humbled by what you did to help our dad, brother, and uncle.
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