In an unusual turn of fate, a savage beating last October may have saved Bigfork trucker Michael Forkin’s life.

His wife, Fran, said nurse practitioner Michelle Hellwig of Bigfork Family Practice diagnosed Michael with acute myeloid leukemia when he went to the clinic for treatment of wounds he received in a vicious truckstop mugging.

“He was a week and half away from death,” Fran said. “She really deserves credit for saving his life.”

Fran contacted the Daily Inter Lake about a fund set up by friends at Glacier Bank to help the family with expenses as Michael recovers from a bone marrow transplant in Salt Lake City. People may donate at any branch to the “Help Mike Fund.”

According to Fran, their family including a son and daughter has suffered from more than one tragedy in the last few years. In late 2008, she and Michael lost their historic Echo Lake Store to an arson fire.

Fran operated the Echo Lake Store while Michael, 58, has driven trucks for about 40 years.

“He is such a hard worker,” she said.

Michael’s first sign of illness was a terrible sore throat that developed while he was driving through Texas. He was sick enough to seek medical attention.

“He went to a walk-in clinic and was diagnosed with a salivary gland infection,” she said.

Fran said that Michael tried to get to Nevada to celebrate daughter Cassidy’s 18th birthday with her and her daughter. He was so weak and ill that he had to spend 10 days in a hotel room but never got much better.

He decided to head right home instead of meeting them in Nevada. On the way, Michael stopped at a truck stop in Winslow, Ariz.

Fran said he had to park in the very back, out of the range of security cameras. His assailant confronted him as he returned to his truck.

“He was mugging him,” she said. “When he had nothing to give, he punched him in the face.”

A HUGE MAN of about 325 pounds, the mugger continued to savagely beat and kick Michael, who weighed about 180 pounds and was weak with illness. A couple of construction workers next to the truck stop parking lot witnessed the attack and stepped in to stop it.

A report was filed with the Arizona police but the mugger most likely won’t pay for the pain and injuries he inflicted. Fran said the man fled the scene quickly.

When Michael regained consciousness, he somehow summoned the strength to get in his truck and make the final leg back home to Bigfork.

“When he walked in the door, I almost passed out,” Fran recalled. “He was completely battered. This man’s footprints were in his back.”

It was a Sunday evening, so they waited until the next morning to go to the clinic in Bigfork to see Hellwig. The nurse practitioner hadn’t seen him for a couple of months.

“He had a dramatic change in his appearance,” Hellwig said. “He had lost 20 to 30 pounds and his belt was wrapped around him one and a half times.”

Hellwig said she immediately had a gut feeling that something more was wrong with Michael than just the beating.

Hellwig was particularly concerned about his very enlarged lymph node. Other symptoms include night sweats, shortness of breath and light-headedness.

She told Michael and Fran that she suspected some kind of cancer, which was confirmed as acute myeloid leukemia by blood work. Hellwig checked with a local oncologist and discovered Michael needed to go to either Seattle or Missoula for this type of leukemia.

Hellwig knew oncologist/hematologist Dr. Sara Scott in Missoula. Realizing the urgency of Michael’s disease, she quickly contacted the specialist.

“He was not in good shape,” Hellwig said. “She saw him the next day.”

The nurse practitioner credited her years of experience with giving her “the gut feeling” about her patient’s illness. Hellwig previously worked 13 years at Family Health Care, a few years at a neurology clinic and filling in at other clinics and ERs before taking over Bigfork Family Practice in 2010.

She didn’t minimize the importance of a good education and research in diagnosing patients.

“But nothing replaces experience,” she said. “That gut feeling takes experience that there’s something here beyond a sore throat.”

Fran remains very grateful to Hellwig’s ability to find the true cause of her husband’s symptoms. She noted the irony of the assault leading to a just-in-time diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia for her husband.

“If it were not for the beating, we would never have known,” she said. “We were immediately sent to Missoula for two rounds of chemo.”

Michael’s leukemia went into remission with the second round of chemo administered at St. Patrick’s Hospital. However, tests showed that he had a genetic mutation that almost guaranteed that his leukemia would return without a bone marrow transplant.

Michael and Fran traveled to the Huntsman Cancer Hospital in Salt Lake City to begin the process. The first step was testing volunteer family members, which found a match with his 72-year-old brother.

“They did the transplant on Dec. 28,” Fran said.

Because of Michael’s brother’s age, the medical team was concerned his transplanted marrow ability to produce adequate cells. While doctors hoped for 5 million, his marrow engrafted within Michael’s bone then performed as a superstar, producing 8 million normal blood cells.

“Because of that, my husband has a chance of surviving,” Fran said.

Michael’s team of physicians expects to discharge him to come home in early April. Fran said that will mark the first time he has been home since Oct. 12.

Because of Michael’s illness, Fran has not been able to work at her job at Teletech, which has added to their financial burden. Even worse, they had no medical insurance when he was diagnosed.

However, they qualified for Medicaid, usually a 45-day process, in just two days because of his critical illness. Even with most medical costs covered, the overwhelming costs of travel and maintaining two households has put a huge strain on the Forkin family finances.

Wings, a local nonprofit group that helps pay nonmedical expenses, has helped the family survive.

“Thank God for them,” Fran said.

She said Michael has showed some signs of improvement. Fran called the prognosis good but expects a slow, difficult road to recovery.

“But he's determined and we're all praying as hard as we can,” she said.

His friends created a Facebook page with photos and many comments at https://www.facebook.com/groups/236283756456042.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.