Updated: Sun., April 26— Michael Mackan, the subject of the article below, is doing much better! Mike called into the Reporter offices today to update us on his progress: He came off the ventilator on Friday and is feeling stronger each day. He received plasma from a donor that he credits with saving his life. (More on that process below). The Reporter will have a longer update later, but Mike wanted people to know he is on the mend and appreciated the calls of support to his family.

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There’s no doubt that corona fatigue is setting in for many of us who are feeling house-bound and trapped. So, it’s natural to seize upon the apparent drop in daily COVID-19 case numbers in Massachusetts — five days in a row now—as a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

(Editor's Note: That "trend" ended Wednesday when Massachusetts recorded a rise in cases and deaths over the day before.)

That may be so, but that tunnel is still hulking above and around us and could very well collapse on some of us before this journey is over.

“I think that the worst is yet to come for a lot of people,” Mayor Walsh said on Monday.

One of the people fighting for life this week is a Dorchester native who has shared a title and many days on the campaign trail with Marty Walsh. Mike Mackan served as the honorary mayor of Dorchester in 2000. He earned that title by raising thousands in donations for the Dot Day Parade. Mike has served for years as a code enforcement officer for the city of Boston and as a volunteer officer for the Lower Mills Civic Association.

Mike was a key operative for Mayor Tom Menino and even ran for office himself a couple of times using the slogan “I’m Backin’ Mackan.” Always a devoted Dorchester booster, he has been very active posting on the excellent Dining in Dorchester page on Facebook in recent years.

At this hour, Mike is in grave condition at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton. He started feeling poorly about two weeks ago and was tested for coronavirus at the Carney. By last Thursday, he was so ill that he had to be admitted in the middle of the night. Within two hours, he was hooked up to a ventilator.

His brother, Chris ‘Tiger’ Stockbridge (shown here— at right— with Mike), passed word of his best friend’s grave condition to friends on social media. It has been a tough month for Tiger and his family— including Mike and his wife Joyce. On April 6, Tiger and Mike lost their mom, Jo Spencer, at age 77. She’d been ill for many months with cancer, but in the end, she also ended up contracting COVID-19. Mike was at her side in the hospital before she passed.

Tiger could not visit his mom in her final days because he and his girlfriend were in recovery after both tested positive for COVID-19 themselves. Stockbridge had had a nagging cough since mid-February and finally went to get tested after he nearly blacked out during a coughing fit. For two-and-a-half days, he battled at home the worst of the symptoms we’ve all heard about: night sweats, a “wicked” high fever, body aches, loss of taste and smell. He was flat on his back.

“It was incredible, like I’d just played seven hours of tackle football at Walsh Park,” he said.

On day three, Tiger says, it just went away.

He remained quarantined from friends and family for two weeks and has tested negative. Now, he’s desperately trying to donate his own blood in hopes that it will help save other people who might benefit from the antibodies in his system.

His brother Mike may be one of them.

When I spoke to Tiger on Monday, he was very worried about Mike’s condition. By Tuesday, he was more upbeat. “The power of prayer and positive vibes is working. Slowly but working.”

Tiger’s urgent call to fellow COVID-19 survivors is to “donate your blood so they can take the good stuff out so they can give it to those who need it. I’m going through St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton. Call 617-789-2078 and ask for Arthur or Heaven. They are running the COVID-19 Donor Registry.”

Prayers are up across Dorchester for everyone battling this scourge right now— and for the people helping our neighbors weather the storm.

Bill Forry is the editor and publisher of the Dorchester Reporter.