Page created by: Trish Cavanaugh

Mike Cavanaugh was a lot of things to a lot of people ~ husband, father, son, brother, nephew, uncle, coach and friend to so many. He was kind, thoughtful, generous, always rooted for the underdog, and for his whole life, he was the life of the party. He was the funniest person I ever met. Others have said the same. He loved laughing and making others laugh. He loved sharing with people ~ music, gifts, meals, drinks, jokes, stories. He loved cooking for people. He was great at it too. He loved helping.

But he did not like having to ask for help when Parkinson's Disease started to chip away at his independence. Parkinson's took a lot away from him, but it did not define him. Even when he needed help, he tried his best to be a great patient. So many times, nurses told me that he was their favorite patient. He was lucky to have amazing family members and friends who happily stepped up time and time again to help Mike in any way they could.

Unfortunately late in the evening August 24, 2024, our world changed forever. Mike went into sudden cardiac arrest at home and was revived after about 20 minutes. Due to the amount of time before his heart was restarted, he suffered an anoxic brain injury and never regained consciousness. He was in ICU for nine days before passing September 2, 2024.

He is so missed. And he is missing so much with our boys and with all of our friends and family. Thankfully I see so much of his personality in Jack, Brendan and Patrick every day. He would be so proud to see how our kids are doing. They were everything to him and anyone who knew him knew how much they meant to him. He loved them so much and was incredibly proud of them.

We were all very happy to participate in the 2024 MJFF walk in Chicago and Mike was so touched at the support shown to him. We are hoping to get Team Cavanaugh back together next year.

From the beginning of Mike’s Parkinson's journey, the Michael J. Fox Foundation has been a great resource to us. From providing medical information and helpful resources to providing optimism when that is what we needed. We have found a lot of answers and hope through MJFF. The advances in research made possible with these donations are impacting Parkinson’s patients and their families and provide hope for the future.