"Providing benefits and services to America's state troopers since 1989"
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"Providing benefits and services to America's state troopers since 1989" |
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Troopers come to aid of brother trooper
To say that life dealt Sr. Tpr. Michael S. Browning a challenging hand is quite an understatement. Last summer Mike, currently assigned to the Sex Offender Registration Investigative Unit of the Virginia State Police, and his family were preparing to leave for vacation at Myrtle Beach where they were going to celebrate his daughter’s birthday and enjoy their family vacation. On the morning of August 10, his daughter’s birthday, he went in to wake his wife to let her know he was leaving for work. He was unable to awaken her. Missy Browning was taken to a local hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, and later airlifted to another hospital. At this point, Mike Browning was still uncertain of his wife’s medical condition, and the doctor’s appeared to have no answers as to why Missy was in a coma. Mike and his family spent tireless hours at Missy’s bedside, praying that she would wake up. After a week, doctors determined there was really no other medical treatment that they could offer, thinking she might be suffering from an ongoing seizure. Mike was going to be faced with the toughest decision of his life – to remove the feeding tube. Mike was at his wife’s bedside, where he had spent the past week, when early on the morning of August 17, he began to hear the warning tones on the machines. Missy’s struggle had ended at the young age of 33. Mike said his wife had saved him from having to make the hardest decision of his life. The past seven months have been extremely difficult for Mike and his two children, Scottie, 11, and Kristen, 13, who are forced to grow up without their mother. Mike has been juggling his career and parenthood – trying to work, cook, clean, maintain laundry, keep the household running, and transport the children to their many school functions and other activities. Because no insurance company would write a life insurance policy due to Missy’s history of a seizure disorder, Mike has been faced with a great financial burden, including burial and funeral expenses, on top of medical bills. Medical tests still haven’t confirmed whether this illness was from a seizure in her sleep or if a change of medication caused Missy to slip into a coma in her sleep. Nonetheless, the family is braving the storm of living life without a wife and mother. AAST was proud to make a financial donation to Mike during this difficult time and joins with the VSP in requesting your continued prayers for Mike and his family. His VSP family also conducted a fundraiser on his behalf not long after the tragedy. |
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1949 Raymond Diehl Road, Tallahassee,
Florida 32308 800.765.5456 |
Highway Patrol/State Police Memorial