Hawaii Airman demonstrates resiliency under pressure

Joint Base Peral Harbor-Hickam --

It was a normal day for Airman 1st Class Brandon Mikulak working at the 8th Communications Squadron at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. He took his lunch break in his dorm and was enjoying a piece of leftover birthday cake when he received the call that would change his life.

Mikulak was about to encounter several life-changing decisions and, faced with such immense responsibility and uncertainty, it would have been easy for him to become overwhelmed by the situation.

However, Mikulak was strong, focused, resourceful, and reached out for help. He became a representation of what resiliency is after hanging up the phone that day.

His mother had suffered a severe stroke and was in a coma at the Queens Memorial Hospital in Honolulu. 

His heart began to race as the thoughts of losing his mother ran through his head. He dropped everything and, with the help of 8th CS leadership and the American Red Cross, he was on a flight the next day to the island of Oahu to be with his mother.

“I walked in the room and the first thing I noticed was the bandages around her head,” Mikulak said. “It almost didn’t seem like she was there. I had to be directly in front of her face to recognize she was my mother. I couldn’t believe it was her with bandages around her head, unconscious and lying in a hospital bed-I was in shock.”

With little time to absorb what was happening, Brandon was faced with a difficult decision.

The stroke triggered Ms. Mikulak’s brain to swell, causing excessive pressure in her brain. With his mother still in a coma, the doctors needed Mikulak to make a decision to allow the doctors to perform a procedure that would either save his mother’s life or end it. 

“The biggest factor for me was that she would probably die without the surgery,” Mikulak said. “On the other hand, the surgery could leave her completely paralyzed and disabled, or even dead. I had to decide what she would have wanted.”

After the doctors moved his mother to the operating room, Mikulak said he stared out the hospital window and broke down.

Thoughts of living without his mother overwhelmed him.  He began to think how it would affect his whole family. His thoughts moved from worrying about his mother to worrying about his two sisters-one 9 years old and the other 16.  As he thought about them, he knew he had to be strong. He composed himself and told his sisters their mother was going in for surgery.

Hours passed and the surgeon finally entered the waiting room. Mikulak and his sisters got the news that the surgery was successful. A rush of emotions coursed through the room.

With his sisters at his side, they sat waiting for their mother to wake. Amazingly, after only 30 minutes, Ms. Mikulak opened her eyes to see her son and daughters watching over her.

“She couldn’t really move her face very well,” said Mikulak. “But I could tell she was very happy to see me when she opened her eyes. I could see she was trying to smile and that was such a relief to me.”

Although the surgery was a success, his mother’s road to recovery was going to be a long one. As the days went by, she began to recover her speech and some movement on her left side, however doctors told her she may never be the same.

With his mother’s recovery just beginning, Mikulak began contemplating how to take care of his family. At only 23 years old, he found himself as the head of the household for his sisters and caregiver to his mother.

Fortunately, Airman Mikulak already had orders to the 37th Intelligence Squadron on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Unfortunately, his report date was several months away. This is where the leadership from the 37th IS, JBPHH and 8th CS, stepped in.

“From the flight chief all the way to the wing commander, everyone was involved in helping Mikulak get his assignment to JBPHH moved up," said Master Sgt. Tj Feldhacker, 37th IS first sergeant. “The two units, the gaining major command and the Air Force Personnel Center, worked multiple report date change requests until it was approved.”

Once Mikulak had his orders changed, he could focus on finding a home for his family. Once again, leadership stepped up to help him out.

Feldhacker was able to procure housing for Mikulak and his sisters at the Tripler Army Fisher House and set up transportation so they could visit their mother and get to school. Once he was assigned to the 37th IS, Feldhacker worked with Col. Richard Smith, JBPHH deputy commander, Chief Master Sgt. Jerry Williams, 15th Wing command chief, and Island Palms Housing to secure immediate on-base housing for Mikulak and his siblings.

As housing was secured, Senior Master Sgt. Rebecca Bench, 37th IS superintendent, organized donations from personnel throughout the community to furnish Mikulak’s entire home.

“Within hours of putting out the request, the unit was inundated with donations,” Feldhacker said. “With the help of our 37th IS, Key Spouses and Mrs. April Westerlund, the unit was able to quickly sort through, pick up and deliver all the items to their new home.

As the leadership worked to assist Mikulak and his family, he was able to begin work at the 37th IS.

“It was tough to go to work, because of everything that was going through my head,” Mikulak said. “But I tried to take it one day at a time and keep working. The biggest thing to push through was to keep busy and stay focused on the tasks in front of me.”

According to his supervisor Tech. Sgt. Brian Childers, a member of the 37th IS, he handled the stress and challenges of his personal life, while still being able to perform at a high level at work.

“We gave him the tools and he took them and ran,” Childers said. “To go through everything he went through-the life threating situation with his mother, the home situation with his sisters, and moving to a new base-he came through it better than I imagine anyone could. The kid is exceptional, and I have a great level of admiration for him.”

In addition to the high level of support from both the 8th CS and the 37th IS, Mikulak said having a clear mind and concentrating on the needs of his family keeps him going.

“What got me through this was keeping calm and thinking logically about the situation," Mikulak said. “I did have thoughts about my mom's disability and how I am going to take care of my sisters. But I tried to stay focused on what was in front of me. “

His mother is making progress in her recovery and is now able to walk with a cane. Airman Mikulak is still adjusting to his new role in his family. He thanked all the leadership that help him through this and said this would have been very difficult to take on alone.

“I had to swallow a lot of pride and ask for help,” Mikulak said.  “I could not have done this by myself. I relied a lot on my leadership and the support they gave me.”

Resilience can define an Airman. A lack of resilience can break one. Fortunately for Airman 1st Class Brandon Mikulak, his resilience allowed him to be a strong son to his mother,  a remarkable sibling to his sisters, and an exceptional member of the U.S. Air Force.

If you are going through a tough time remember there are resources out there to help you through it. You can talk to your supervisor, unit First Sergeant, the base Chaplin Core or Military One Source (800-342-9647).