McIntire Family
2012 Newsletter
I decided this year it was time for a newsletter. I haven’t done one in a long time so it was about due for another. This year has been more than eventful for us. I find myself reflecting back upon everything that happened to us and I find myself feeling a huge amount of gratitude and love towards family, friends, and life.
On March 19th Michael presented with slight symptoms of low blood pressure, fatigue, and forgetfulness. We went to the ER for the doctors to do all kinds of tests and for them to tell us that they could find nothing significant wrong. We went home hoping for the best. On March 21st I got a call from one of our employees informing me that Michael had almost fainted while on location in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, taking pictures of little three year old dancers. The ambulance took him to St. Elizabeth hospital in Ft. Thomas where I met him in the ER room. The same thing happened, the doctors did a bunch of tests and no significant problem came out where they wanted to do anything further. The only thing they suggested was for Michael to stay and do a stress test to rule out any problems they were missing. Michael and I didn’t feel good about the stress test, but I felt good about him staying and doing further tests. I wasn’t sure what tests, so I called his sister who had a hole in her heart fixed. We spoke on the phone for a bit and she suggested a number of tests that Michael could get done. I felt good about it, so we had him stay and meet with a cardiologist in the morning. I went home feeling good about our decision, but worried not knowing what the problem would be. I got there the next morning to a very concerned cardiologist. He informed me that Michael didn’t have a hole in his heart but an aortic dissection, which is a malformation of your aorta that causes the blood flow to be compromised causing blood clots, causing an aneurism, causing Michael’s condition to be very serious. He informed me that Michael would be in emergency open heart surgery within the hour to replace the damaged aorta and damaged valve. We were very blessed to have the doctors and nurses team that we did. On March 22nd when they opened Michael up, in that moment his aorta tore. If we wouldn’t have caught it in time Michael would have passed away. I’m grateful to know that Michael still has his place here on earth. I’m grateful for the second chance Heavenly Father gave him.
Our journey didn’t stop there. For Michael went into cardiac arrest twice, multiple organ failure, and a second open heart surgery on April 19th to relieve fluid around his heart. He continued to have heath problems, having a total of 10 hospital stays. He has been home since the end of September and continues to get stronger every day. I’m grateful for the journey we were sent on for it has made us a closer family as a whole. Today my boys and I pray every moment thanking Heavenly Father for Michael’s life and for the blessing we have to be together on earth.

Even though we have endured many trials, we have received many many blessings. One of our biggest blessings was with our oldest James. While his daddy struggled in ICU he made a huge decision to test for his second degree black belt. He had already tested for it 4 months earlier and to our dismay, didn’t get it. He worked really hard in his karate classes and wanted to do it in honor of his daddy who was fighting hard to survive. On April 13, my James proudly received his second degree black belt. I can tell you, I was one happy momma. James is 9 years old now and has come a long way. He is in fourth grade now and continues to work really hard with his school work. He is such a huge help and loves to play with his baby brother.
Our sweet Austin has struggled without his daddy, but has grown a lot. He is 6 years old and our energetic, sensitive, funny, little monkey. His sweet dimple smile melts my heart. He is in 1st grade now and exerts all his energy in trying hard in school. He is so smart and is getting better and better with his reading and math skills every day. He is almost a first degree black belt in karate and can’t wait to start sparring like his big brother James.
Our fun, active baby Tanner, (otherwise known as Baby T) has been the light of our life. He is almost 2 now and a fun, big handful. As much as Michael was away from us this year, I thought Tanner would have an adjustment period having Michael back. He didn’t, he climbed up on his daddy’s lap and just loved right on him, as if he had never left. He loves his “broders”, (brothers) and wants to do whatever they do. He especially has taken a liking to karate. He tries to “break boards” and do karate chops every chance he gets. He has blue eyes, dimples, and a few blonde streaks. Watch out ladies, he will be a heart breaker!
Our Michael is doing really well. He lost a total of 42 pounds during our trauma. He lost a lot of muscle and so has had a hard time coming back from everything for he has had very little strength. He gets stronger everyday and continues to work hard to get back to where he was before all this happened. He has been working and is enjoying taking pictures all over again, for he missed it a lot.
As for me, I continue to work hard at getting our little family back into a “normal” routine. It feels different to me now. Every little thing that our boys do and say mean so much more to me now. My time with Michael is still limited with three children, but the time that we have is cherished. I don’t know why we were so blessed to have Michael back. All I know is that he isn’t done here on the earth. I will be grateful every day of my life with Michael to our Heavenly Father for saving him, and giving me the miracle my boys, my family, and his family so desired.
I’m so grateful to my family and friends who helped us get through our trial, for I could not have survived it without them. I reflect upon a quote I have used a lot this year it’s by Elizabeth Smart, “Nobody is trial free, but we have a choice. We can choose to allow our experiences to hold us back, and to not allow us to become great or achieve greatness in this life. Or we can allow our experiences to push us forward, to make us grateful for every day we have and to be all the more thankful for those who are around us.”
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love always,
The McIntires

McIntire Family
2012 Newsletter
I decided this year it was time for a newsletter. I haven’t done one in a long time so it was about due for another. This year has been more than eventful for us. I find myself reflecting back upon everything that happened to us and I find myself feeling a huge amount of gratitude and love towards family, friends, and life.
On March 19th Michael presented with slight symptoms of low blood pressure, fatigue, and forgetfulness. We went to the ER for the doctors to do all kinds of tests and for them to tell us that they could find nothing significant wrong. We went home hoping for the best. On March 21st I got a call from one of our employees informing me that Michael had almost fainted while on location in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, taking pictures of little three year old dancers. The ambulance took him to St. Elizabeth hospital in Ft. Thomas where I met him in the ER room. The same thing happened, the doctors did a bunch of tests and no significant problem came out where they wanted to do anything further. The only thing they suggested was for Michael to stay and do a stress test to rule out any problems they were missing. Michael and I didn’t feel good about the stress test, but I felt good about him staying and doing further tests. I wasn’t sure what tests, so I called his sister who had a hole in her heart fixed. We spoke on the phone for a bit and she suggested a number of tests that Michael could get done. I felt good about it, so we had him stay and meet with a cardiologist in the morning. I went home feeling good about our decision, but worried not knowing what the problem would be. I got there the next morning to a very concerned cardiologist. He informed me that Michael didn’t have a hole in his heart but an aortic dissection, which is a malformation of your aorta that causes the blood flow to be compromised causing blood clots, causing an aneurism, causing Michael’s condition to be very serious. He informed me that Michael would be in emergency open heart surgery within the hour to replace the damaged aorta and damaged valve. We were very blessed to have the doctors and nurses team that we did. On March 22nd when they opened Michael up, in that moment his aorta tore. If we wouldn’t have caught it in time Michael would have passed away. I’m grateful to know that Michael still has his place here on earth. I’m grateful for the second chance Heavenly Father gave him.
Our journey didn’t stop there. For Michael went into cardiac arrest twice, multiple organ failure, and a second open heart surgery on April 19th to relieve fluid around his heart. He continued to have heath problems, having a total of 10 hospital stays. He has been home since the end of September and continues to get stronger every day. I’m grateful for the journey we were sent on for it has made us a closer family as a whole. Today my boys and I pray every moment thanking Heavenly Father for Michael’s life and for the blessing we have to be together on earth.

Even though we have endured many trials, we have received many many blessings. One of our biggest blessings was with our oldest James. While his daddy struggled in ICU he made a huge decision to test for his second degree black belt. He had already tested for it 4 months earlier and to our dismay, didn’t get it. He worked really hard in his karate classes and wanted to do it in honor of his daddy who was fighting hard to survive. On April 13, my James proudly received his second degree black belt. I can tell you, I was one happy momma. James is 9 years old now and has come a long way. He is in fourth grade now and continues to work really hard with his school work. He is such a huge help and loves to play with his baby brother.
Our sweet Austin has struggled without his daddy, but has grown a lot. He is 6 years old and our energetic, sensitive, funny, little monkey. His sweet dimple smile melts my heart. He is in 1st grade now and exerts all his energy in trying hard in school. He is so smart and is getting better and better with his reading and math skills every day. He is almost a first degree black belt in karate and can’t wait to start sparring like his big brother James.
Our fun, active baby Tanner, (otherwise known as Baby T) has been the light of our life. He is almost 2 now and a fun, big handful. As much as Michael was away from us this year, I thought Tanner would have an adjustment period having Michael back. He didn’t, he climbed up on his daddy’s lap and just loved right on him, as if he had never left. He loves his “broders”, (brothers) and wants to do whatever they do. He especially has taken a liking to karate. He tries to “break boards” and do karate chops every chance he gets. He has blue eyes, dimples, and a few blonde streaks. Watch out ladies, he will be a heart breaker!
Our Michael is doing really well. He lost a total of 42 pounds during our trauma. He lost a lot of muscle and so has had a hard time coming back from everything for he has had very little strength. He gets stronger everyday and continues to work hard to get back to where he was before all this happened. He has been working and is enjoying taking pictures all over again, for he missed it a lot.
As for me, I continue to work hard at getting our little family back into a “normal” routine. It feels different to me now. Every little thing that our boys do and say mean so much more to me now. My time with Michael is still limited with three children, but the time that we have is cherished. I don’t know why we were so blessed to have Michael back. All I know is that he isn’t done here on the earth. I will be grateful every day of my life with Michael to our Heavenly Father for saving him, and giving me the miracle my boys, my family, and his family so desired.
I’m so grateful to my family and friends who helped us get through our trial, for I could not have survived it without them. I reflect upon a quote I have used a lot this year it’s by Elizabeth Smart, “Nobody is trial free, but we have a choice. We can choose to allow our experiences to hold us back, and to not allow us to become great or achieve greatness in this life. Or we can allow our experiences to push us forward, to make us grateful for every day we have and to be all the more thankful for those who are around us.”
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love always,
The McIntires

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