Mikey Bjoraker: No broken bones, sjkull intact!

A man who has been a ray of sunshine to nearly all his South Hill neighbors has been flown to Kootenai Medical after being struck and seriously injured by a vehicle on South Main Street in Bonners Ferry in the area of Liberty Station, one of the many places along the highway in town in which he often helped out. His family asks all his neighbors to please pray for him.

Details are scant but the collision is being investigated by Idaho State Police and a press release is expected. The collision occurred shortly before 6 p.m. and traffic crews worked to stabilize Mikey direct traffic around the scene for three hours. A Life Flight fixed-wing aircraft took off from the Boundary County Airport with Mikey aboard at about 8:47 p.m. bound for Coeur d’Alene.

Mikey was a long-time athlete representing his beloved community in Idaho Special Olympics winter and summer competitions around the state, and he was proud to live in his own home east of the Highway on Monroe Street, and he spent part of most days checking in on neighbors, especially the elderly, the handicapped and those going through difficult times.

It was hard to stay sad or morose in the light of his big, lopsided grin or when drowning in the din of his loud voice, uniquely perfect for his disjointed but perfectly understandable way of storytelling, his bold and infectious laugh, his collection of oft repeated “Mikeyisms;” “oh, I just love ya too much,” or “I just wanna make sure you were okay” as one tale of where he’d been ended segued into who he’d seen, what they’d done, where they’d gone. If you had a dog, he’d bring along a bone from work at South Hill Locker that was often larger than the dog, he’d bring fresh smokies when given some to take home, breakfast or lunch from the various restaurants he help in … “they fed me too much! Here, you eat it!”

He could stop in at the inopportune times and not realize it, he apparently had no concept of what an unwanted guest was or the meaning of exasperation until the smoke from your ears became visible, then he’d stumble through remembering he had someplace he needed to be. He could be exasperating at times, but always in such a way that you missed him as soon as he was out of sight.

At about 10 p.m.. family friend Sam Wells reported, “Michael has no skull fracture or broken bones. He was taken to KMC as a precaution. They will continue medical care, testing and watching over him. Watch out nurses! Michael has family coming from out of state to be with him. Please continue prayers as Michael will need them as well as safe travels for his family. Also that poor driver, put yourself in that position. They will need our support as well.”