UPDATE — OCTOBER 2026
(Original text is posted after this update.)
He Survived. Now We're Learning What Rebuilding Really Means.
When we first shared Mike's story, we were still trying to comprehend the miracle of his survival.
Six days underground. A devastating injury. A rescue that came just in time. And ultimately, the loss of his left leg.
Today, Mike is no longer fighting to survive those tunnels.
He's fighting to rebuild his life beyond them.
The emergency may be over, but recovery is far from finished.
There have been painful days, difficult adjustments, unexpected expenses, and moments when simply getting through the day has required everything we've got.
But there has also been laughter, faith, love, progress, and a growing determination to build something meaningful out of everything he's survived.
And somewhere along the way, this became about more than learning to live with an amputation.
It became about learning how to move forward, together.
We're entering Phase 2 of Mike's recovery, and we want to share where things stand, what comes next, and how your continued support is helping him rebuild.
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PHASE 2 — BEYOND SURVIVAL
Recovery. Independence. Faith. Purpose.
Mike survived something most of us cannot begin to imagine.
But surviving was only the beginning.
Since his amputation, life has become a daily process of healing, adapting, and discovering what independence looks like in a body that has changed forever.
Some days bring progress. Others bring tremendous pain, frustration, and exhaustion.
Recovery isn't a straight line.
And it doesn't happen in isolation.
I'm Tamara, known to many as Whiskey, and I'm Mike's fiancé and ministry partner. I am also blessed that i am a trauma recovery coach who assist folks in the process of learning the tools that help them in their own recovery. I am grateful to God that He blessed me with the wisdom that is greatly helping both of us and our family right now. I've been beside him throughout his recovery, helping navigate medical appointments, transportation, daily needs, and the countless practical challenges that follow a life-changing injury.
We're learning together that love and determination are powerful, but neither makes the financial realities disappear.
We're also learning something else.
Life doesn't stop happening while you're trying to recover.
Alongside Mike's healing, we're continuing our involvement with Crucible Ministries, serving people facing homelessness, trauma, disability, and other life-altering circumstances.
Long before his own accident, Mike was already showing up for others during their darkest moments.
Now he's experiencing firsthand what it means to need that same kind of support.
And rather than allowing this experience to become the end of his story, he's beginning to see how it might become part of his purpose.
But first, we have to build a stable foundation.
Mike still faces ongoing recovery needs, mobility challenges, future prosthetic care, transportation, accessible living arrangements, and the difficult process of rebuilding financial independence.
That's what Phase 2 is about.
Not simply getting through another day.
Building toward a future where Mike can regain independence, contribute meaningfully, and continue becoming the man he wants to be.
Donations to this fundraiser are intended for Mike's personal recovery and rebuilding needs, including medical and rehabilitation expenses, mobility and adaptive equipment, transportation, proper nutrition, accessible housing and basic living expenses during recovery.
This is Mike's personal recovery fundraiser, not a general fundraising campaign for Crucible Ministries. Our ministry work is part of the life we're building, but donations here are designated to benefit Mike directly.
I am organizing this fundraiser as Mike's fiancé and will use the funds received to support his recovery and rebuilding expenses on his behalf. Michael and I are stewards of the donations as a team, and I am the one who is facilitating the physical banking and money management. It's just too much for him while his focus is recovery. He doesn't need the added stress.
We're grateful for every donation, every prayer, every share, and every person who has walked beside us.
We don't know exactly what every step ahead will look like.
But we know we're taking them.
Together.
He survived the darkness. Now we're helping him build a life in the light.
All glory to Jesus Christ.
❤️ Mike & Tamara
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Six days.
That's how long Michael Fuentes survived alone underground after a fishing trip turned into something almost unimaginable.
Mike had gone fishing near an area locals call “the waterfall,” part of an extensive storm-drain tunnel system. While exploring the tunnels, he climbed a wall roughly 30 feet high and continued farther into the system.
When he tried to return in the darkness, the climb he remembered became a 30-foot drop.
Mike walked off the edge.
He landed with the impact concentrated through his left leg, catastrophically injuring his ankle. Unable to walk and unable to climb back out, he was trapped underground.
For six days, he couldn't get anyone's attention.
Then the rain came.
Flash flooding began filling the tunnel system. Mike pulled himself into a side tunnel and carried approximately 250 yards until he reached a grate where he could finally see the sky.
He screamed for help until he passed out.
When he woke up, he screamed again.
Someone finally heard him.
911 was called, and rescuers pulled Mike from the tunnel alive.
But six days underground with a devastating open injury had taken an enormous toll. Doctors discovered serious infection and dead bone. Despite aggressive medical treatment and surgery, his foot could not be saved.
Mike's left leg was amputated.
And still, his response has been gratitude.
He lost part of his leg.
He did not lose his life.
Mike believes completely that God carried him through the darkness, the pain, the hunger and the flooding and brought him out alive when the outcome could very easily have been different.
Now begins another journey.
Mike faces healing from the amputation, rehabilitation, adapting to life with a changed body, eventual prosthetic care, rebuilding his ability to work, and learning what independence looks like in this next chapter.
He has already begun.
Within days of surgery, Mike was working with staff and learning how to move safely with a walker. His determination hasn't disappeared with his leg.
But determination doesn't make recovery inexpensive.
Mike was uninsured when the accident occurred, and the complete financial impact is still unknown. Medical bills are only one part of what lies ahead. Rehabilitation, prosthetic and mobility needs, transportation, adaptive equipment, daily living expenses during recovery, and eventually rebuilding sustainable income will all be part of this process.
We've established an initial goal of $25,000 to help Mike through this first stage of recovery.
Funds may be used toward:
- Medical and rehabilitation expenses
Prosthetic, mobility and adaptive needs
- Transportation related to treatment and recovery.
- Basic living expenses while Mike is unable to return to normal work including maintaining housing.
- Equipment and practical needs that help restore independence
- Other directly related recovery expenses as they become known
- We will update this page as Mike's recovery progresses and his longer-term needs become clearer.
This isn't a fundraiser asking anyone to feel sorry for Mike.
It's an invitation to help a survivor rebuild.
Mike has a long road ahead of him, and anyone who knows him knows exactly how he's going to approach it:
One day at a time.
Whatever that day requires.
Leaving it all on the field.
If you're able to give, thank you.
If you're unable to give financially, please share Mike's story and pray for his continued healing, strength and direction.
One of the Scriptures that has spoken powerfully over this experience is Psalm 40:1–2:
“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”
For Mike, those words aren't abstract anymore.
God heard his cry.
Now we help him take the next steps.
All glory to Jesus Christ.
— Mike & Tamara
