Many of you might remember a story titled "Mike Hikes" that published in January of 2022. In that story there are many mountains named: Lone Mountain, Crow Creek Canyon, Babcock Mountain, Trapper Peak, Saint Mary, Mount Baker, Mount Saint Helens, Manitou Incline, Mount Rainier. Mike hiked them all. The first quote in that story read:
"There's always going to be a mountain that looks too high, a problem that looks too hard to overcome," said Mike. "All we need to remember is to take small steps and breathe, and you can conquer anything."
Flash forward to today and Mike is blind. He hasn't hiked at the impressive elevation he's used to in nearly a year since developing what is known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). It's a debilitating condition that occurs from lack of sufficient blood flow to the optic nerve.
Mike woke up one day with a shade drawn halfway over his left eye, and after a trip to the optometrist, Mike was informed that this was more serious than expected and the questions he would have about this rare condition wouldn't beckon a ton of answers. And when there isn't much in the way of research or reliable treatments, medical insurance tends to lean away from covering any type of experimental treatment that could restore his vision. To Mike, this meant not seeing his grandchildren grow up. Never seeing his wife's face. Not realizing the beauty of our Missoula, but instead imagining it and recalling it from memory.
It wasn't until Camilla Petersen, MD of Petersen Concierge Medical said, "You know Mike, there's another route we can do. There are a lot of studies going on with the optic nerve."
"She's the one who got me linked up with the head doctors in the nation to do stem cell research on this," said Mike. "She is an angel. She took this and just ran with it. All the doctors from Mayo Clinic to the local doctors said, 'Mike, it's permanent. You have to live with it. There's no treatment for optic nerve damage.'" But Camilla offered an alternate route.
He and his wife Mysta have invested over $100,000 out-of-pocket—an investment in a kernel of faith that experimental research through clinical trials would eventually restore his eyesight, or in the least, help somebody else down the road. Since last November, they have traveled to the Global Institute in Chicago, Illinois, the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford in Palo Alto, California, and the SCOTS2 clinical trial in Coral Springs, Florida with others filling their 2025 calendar.
They have exceeded their loan amount with each trip totaling north of $30,000 out-of-pocket and have asked the Missoula community for help through a SpotFund page online. The webpage is updated with the details of each trip and offers some personal messages and stories from Mike.
While financial setbacks go without question in a quest to regain eyesight, there are emotional challenges to overcome as well. "I went from climbing 14,000 foot mountains to not being able to do any of that. All of a sudden it just stopped," said Mike. "And I have this award-winning magazine that's so beautiful, and I can't read it or see the pictures in it anymore." Even finding a fork on the dinner table is difficult. "Family and friends have been so supportive but Mysta is the strength of everything. She's the one who made this happen and pushed me to get stronger."
If you're lucky enough to know Mike, you'll know that every challenge is met with a silver lining of humor (he joked about going axe throwing after one of his clinical trials on a recent Facebook post). It's just in his nature to live life to the fullest and not take himself or life too seriously.
"My daughter said, 'Why don't you get one of those velcro things that stick to your chest when they throw a ball at you?'" Like a human Toss and Catch game. His voice is always ripe with joy and optimism. And it's that optimism that is starting to take him to familiar heights as he begins his ascent into blind hiking and climbing alongside his trusty border collie Doakes. Like all good dogs, he knows that something is different and that his navigation skills are not just for nosing out the next wild scent. Mike also uses Sole-trex with his Alltrails app on his phone to navigate his environment in a new way.
"You can't change what you've got so enjoy what you have," said Mike. "I just want to thank everyone—this community has supported me and I am just so thankful for all the messages and words of encouragement."
"Family and friends have been so supportive but Mysta is the strength of everything. She's the one who made this happen and pushed me to get stronger."