16-04-2025
Feel Good Friday: Local radio host faces battle with leukemia
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – For over 4 decades, Mike Sullivan was a constant presence in the Eau Claire broadcasting community, the voice behind thousands of battles for Chippewa Valley athletes. Now, Mike and his family face a battle of their own. 'It's kind of a one day at a time sort of thing. You just… you don't know what's going to happen and you can't control it anyway. So, one day at a time.'
That's been the mantra for the Sullivan family since Mike's leukemia diagnosis in February, as rounds of treatment continue. 'At this point, they're just kind of doing a round of chemo, a little bit of rest round of chemo, hoping that at some point it just helps.'
As bills continued coming in, though, Mike's Medicare and insurance reached their limit. 'It's difficult enough to deal with a situation like this for someone that you love, but then to have financial difficulties on top of that, it's the last thing you really want to think about or even have the brain bandwidth to think about.'
Mike's daughter Katie turned to the community for support, posting a GoFundMe to help pay for the treatment. In just a week, their $10,000 goal was surpassed. 'We are so, so touched by the outpouring of support from the community. It's more than we had ever, ever hoped for. It really means a lot to our family.'
Through tenures at Z-100 morning show and WBIZ radio, Mike's connections go nationwide, with support coming from across the United States. 'It's amazing how many people have reached out that my dad worked with 20-30 years ago and players that he did play by play for again 20-30 years ago, that it's like I wouldn't even guessed that they would even remember him. It's just nice to have so many people all over the place thinking about us at a time like this.'
While donations will continue to be accepted, Katie noted another, more sentimental way to support their family. 'Memories and messages on Facebook to either him or me are certainly welcome and prayers. We are people of faith. We appreciate prayers and… and just good thoughts.'
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