Tech's Mike Sutton in critical condition with "rare disease"
Tennessee Tech men?s basketball head coach Mike Sutton is in critical condition on a ventilator in a Virginia hospital this afternoon fighting a rare disease. After being admitted to Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk, Va., on Sunday, Sutton was diagnosed with Miller Fisher Syndrome, a disease which attacks the immune system.
NORFOLK, Va. -- Tennessee Tech men?s basketball head coach Mike
Sutton is in critical condition on a ventilator in a Virginia
hospital this afternoon fighting a rare disease. After being
admitted to Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk, Va., on
Sunday, Sutton was diagnosed with Miller Fisher Syndrome, a disease
which attacks the immune system.
NOTE: Tennessee Tech is requesting that any
cards be sent directly to the TTU Men's Basketball Office (TTU Box
5057, Cookeville, TN 38505) and those will then be delivered to
Karen and Mike.
Meanwhile, coach Sutton has made a specific request to NOT receive
gifts, etc., but that people would instead make contributions to
the Johnny Donnelly Memorial Scholarship Fund at Tennessee Tech.
That fund provides scholarship to help student-athletes finish
their degrees after they've completed their eligibility.
?He?s being treated for a viral infection,? Sutton?s wife Karen
told the Herald-Citizen. The apparent immune disorder that Sutton
is suffering from has left him virtually motionless.
?He can?t talk and he can barely move his toes. It?s a nasty
virus,? Karen said. ?He?s wiggling his toes better this morning,
better than he was last evening. He?s on a ventilator and he has a
feeding tube and a breathing tube. There?s about seven bags of
stuff hanging around him.?
Sutton had been hanging out in Portsmouth, Va., with Golden Eagle
standout Willie Jenkins and some friends of the family. He went to
Virginia to watch Jenkins compete in the Portsmouth Invitational
Tournament, which is essentially an NBA tryout camp. After
suffering from a nagging cough for about a week, Sutton had a few
dizzy spells at the tournament and was
encouraged by a family friend to check himself into a
hospital.
?It?s been very surreal to just have someone who is vibrant and
alive and up and moving and then all of sudden can only communicate
by blinking his eyes,? Karen said. ?It?s frustrating. He?s in an
element where he can hardly communicate to me.?
Sutton?s ailment came as a shock to Tennessee Tech athletic
director Mark Wilson.
?My only concern is for Mike
Sutton and Karen and their family,? Wilson stated. ?We want
Mike to have a quick recovery.?
While a complete recovery is expected, it may not be as quick as
Sutton and his wife would like.
?The doctor said not to expect instant results,? Karen explained.
?It won?t be an hourly or even a daily basis. It might take a
while.?
While Sutton tries to recover from this bizarre medical incident,
Golden Eagle associate head coach Steve
Payne has been put in charge of the day-to-day operations of
the TTU men's basketball program.
?That was the request when he was first admitted to the hospital.
He communicated to Karen that he wanted Coach Payne to take on the
operations of the basketball program and keep the program moving
forward,? Wilson recalled.
Payne, who has been Sutton?s top assistant the past three years,
says he and everyone else associated with the program will do
whatever they can while Sutton tries to get well.
?Nothing has changed. We are still doing the same things even
though he?s not here,? Payne said. ?We?ve got good people and good
kids. We all have to do better. Without Coach Sutton here, we have
to continue to do things and don?t slip. It?s still Coach Sutton?s
program and we are still doing the things Mike
Sutton said to do. That doesn?t change whether he's here or
not here."
