In July 2015, 21-year-old Erik Macke of Blanchard was a newlywed when he was involved in a high speed motorcycle accident. His injuries included an above the knee amputation and a spinal cord injury that resulted in partial paralysis. Soon after the accident, he and his wife, Emily, found out they were expecting their first child – a baby girl.
On July 6, 2016, 29-year-old Matthew Mattocks suffered a cerebral infarction, which blocked the blood and oxygen supply to his brain, causing a rare neurological disorder known as Locked-in Syndrome. In this terrifying condition, patients are awake and conscious but unable to move much of anything except their eyes. He spent the next six months in long-term acute care and a nursing home, with no improvement – and little hope.
In January 2016, 48-year-old Charles “Mike” Otto was admitted to a Tulsa area hospital where it was discovered he had congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation and deteriorating renal function. Doctors also identified a calcified rim around his heart that would require surgery. During the operation and after, his blood pressure dropped dangerously low. He was on the brink of death. He was transferred to INTEGRIS Health Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City to receive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a last resort lifesaving technique commonly referred to as ECMO.