WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – John Michael Mielcarski’s life is best defined by four words: faith, family, friends and music.
Mielcarski’s days are filled with running a business with his fiancé, Tracy, cooking on any given night for a host of friends, and on weekends performing at a local venue.
However, on a cold February night, life as he knew it would take a dark turn.
“I had a fever. 104, 105, something crazy,” said Mielcarski. “By then, I was really sick.”
Mielcarski was rushed to the hospital, and the once healthy man was deteriorating rapidly.
“The ER doc came in and ran a battery of tests, and they said [you have the] flu, pneumonia, and I’m not certain, but I think maybe your bowel is perforated as well, and you may be septic,” said Mielcarski.
Doctors had to stop his first attempt at a life-saving surgery because Mielcarski crashed. The second surgery was a success, but that only marked the start of a long, hellacious journey to recovery.
Mielcarski had double pneumonia, and with oxygen levels critically low, he was put into a medically induced coma and placed on a ventilator for over a month.
“I was a mess, including zero kidney function,” said Mielcarski. “At some point, they were talking about a permanent dialysis port, and Tracy and Mom said to just give him a minute.”
As fate would have it, just a few months before his almost three-month-long stay in Novant’s Intensive Care Unit, Mielcarski’s parents would attend the Willie Stargell Celebrity Invitational gala last November. That night, they purchased a dialysis machine, which they called an early Christmas present to John Michael and Tracy.
“Coolest Christmas present I ever got,” he said. “Has my name on it. Tracy’s name, too.”
None the wiser, it would be the very machine that helped save their Mielcarski’s life.
Mielcarski’s father, a doctor in South Carolina, and his mother stayed by his side during his treatment. Tracy camped out in the waiting room. Friends and family were in and out, around the clock, to support.
Miraculously, he survived, but Mielcarski would have to learn to walk, talk, and most importantly, live again.
“It’s hard to know the impact you’re going to make, impossible maybe. Maybe somebody said, ‘Oh, I got this ticket to this thing, will you come with me?’” said Mielcarski. “I don’t know all the different reasons people come and gather for the event. Maybe it’s just a blip on your calendar. You know—a social event. But it’s not. Yeah. It’s somebody’s life.”
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