E-mail from Michael

Good Morning:

This was never an email I ever anticipated I may have to write but it is very important that I let you in on some news.

As many of you know I have been living in Belgrade, Serbia, over the past 3 months where I have been working for one of the largest real estate developers/owners/operators in the country. I’ve been working with one of my best friends, Rob Schweizer, down there. He is a director at Merrill Lynch and ML has invested in the company so we are running the investment. So far its been a lot of fun, I’ve learned a great deal about real estate private equity, and overall, another experience to add to the book.

Over the past 2 to 3 months though I have noticed that I have become more tired and run-down and overall not feeling 100%. My endurance is shot and I have gotten pretty severe headaches. At first I figured it was because I have been working a great deal of hours but it’s not that. After going to a doctor in Belgrade on Thursday they ran me through some neurological exam and everything was fine. At my insistence though I asked for more tests and to have an MRI. I did that on Friday. The results came back that afternoon.

It turns out that I have a tumor in the right frontal lobe of my brain. From what the doctor told me in Belgrade, it is a Category 2, which is medium risk (Category 4 being the worst) and it is encapsulated, as opposed to having tentacles. He has told me that I need to have surgery as soon as possible to have it removed. He told me I can no longer drive either due to a risk of seizures. He could not tell me how long it has been there but that everything that I have been feeling has most likely been caused by that.

On Friday night, Rob had organized one of the company’s private jets to take me to London in order to catch the first flight out yesterday to New York. For those of you who know how much I like to fly, having a Citation XLS private plane at your disposal ain’t bad. On top of that he also organized a medical doctor to fly with me to not only London, but to be seated next to me on the flight to NY, to make sure I arrived safely. My mother, and my brother T.J., were waiting at JFK for me. I arrived fine and am at my parents’ home in Connecticut.

I do not know the exact game plan as of yet. I am leaving the logistics to my parents, my brother, and my uncle (my Mom’s brother) who resides in Manhattan. Tentatively, I will be going into Manhattan tomorrow (Monday) and most likely be going to Memorial Sloan-Kettering to see a neurologist or neurosurgeon. Apart from this I have no more details. T.J. has set up a web blog and will update it along the way to keep everyone posted on what is happening.

I know I have been out of touch with many of you and I apologize for this. I’ve truly enjoyed my work over the past several months but have been remiss in keeping in touch. Thanks for your understanding.

I ask that you keep not only me in your thoughts and prayers, but my parents and my brother. I promise you I will be in touch.

Mike