It's hard to believe it was a week ago today that our Michael suffered his grand mal seizure; two weeks ago, Mom, Dad, M & I were at dinner at his favorite restaurant, Massimo's, enjoying dishes of pasta; about six weeks ago, Michael ceased his treatment at MSK; almost three months ago, we were celebrating Christmas Eve at the best location in the world with our family, as if life was just fine. Life goes by fast sometimes...and how things have changed.

Michael had a good night, with a new nurse, Sophia. She took good care of him, all under the watchful eye of Dad. Unfortunately, M's vitals are fading slightly.

Today, right now, in this moment, Michael is still here. As I write this, my brother is sleeping soundly and he looks like my own personal angel, with those rosy cheeks and mouth slightly open. I am reassured by his steady breath and I look over and watch his chest rise and fall. While I write this blog for those of you who are reading (and who have given such kind feedback), today, it's really for me. This has been the longest week of my life, which started with seeing Michael lying on the floor after his seizure and my parents hunched over him: a blur of medication syringes, bedsheet and diaper changes, vomit and urine spills, tear drops, far too many coffees and desserts, pass-outs in chairs, sore back muscles, loads of smelly laundry, even my own fall to the kitchen floor yelling, screaming and crying at this terrible situation. I hope that that crap won't cloud my wonderful memories of my Michael.

So, let me change gears and remember some things that I love about him:
- Michael used to love to act, taking part in plays and musicals in grammar school and high school; he actually had a decent singing voice (that he continued to exercise in the shower).
- He was a manager for the UConn men's basketball team, and for one summer, he was Coach Calhoun's personal assistant (the best part for M, was taking Coach's brand new Ford to the car wash every couple days....such a car geek!)
- He always prided himself on dressing sharp...his closet in the Western Whyte House has over 100 dress shirts, ties, suits, Italian-made shoes, cuff links, collar stays, etc. It really is something to see.
- Michael LOVES his nieces and nephews: Brian, Lauren, Madison, Lukas, Aidan, and all the other sons and daughters of his closest friends...he is "Uncle Mike" to MANY wonderful kids
- Michael always slurped his first few sips of coffee.
- As kids, he accidentally knocked my front tooth out.
- He has comical nicknames for our Bridgeport and Fairfield neighbors and close friends.
- His own nicknames included "Spice", "Spicey", "Mr. 76", "The Filibuster" (he spoke at length to strangers), "Mr. President" (he knows everything) & yes, "Boobs" (not why you think!)
- He loves his desserts, always saying, "I'm on holiday" when indulging.
- He had pretty bad music tastes (in my humble opinion!), though he did help introduce me to U2 & DMB.
- He loved to finagle deals at hotels or on airlines to get better seats and he always insisted on paying to get more points. The kid has like 1 billion points!!!
- He insisted on filling the dishwasher his way.

So, those are just a few of the little things that I'll never forget about him. I hope they can cloud out the more recent crap.

Today, Michael is here. I know that he won't be forever; to be gone sooner than we all want. But, I will always love him and man, what a life he lived! Thank you for being in our corner...thank you for your love and support. I know every one of you has something else going on in your life (on top of this virus stuff), but I need you. We will NEED you now and when this is after, most especially my Mom and Dad.

Perform a Michael Whyte-ism today: rock out to some 80s song and give a warm hello to close friend!