Beloved Denver Photographer, Mike Bomberger, Wakes Up from Coma

On December 8, 2022, Denver’s beloved drag photographer and dear friend to OFM, Mike Bomberger, was struck by a vehicle while riding his scooter in the Denver metro area. After nearly three months in a coma, Bomberger has woken up.

Bomberger fell in love with photography at a young age by going on nature walks with his father. His first real breakthrough was when he bought his first DSLR camera, and his work was published in OFM just three months later. Made locally famous for his work with the drag and LGBTQ community in Denver, Mike would go on to make lasting friendships and connections with everyone he worked with.

Bomberger is also an avid scooter enthusiast and would often ride his flip scooter around town. Additionally, he never rode without his helmet, knee, and elbow pads. On the night of his accident, Mike was taken into the ICU wearing all of his protective equipment.

A blog for updates on Mike’s condition, titled For the Love of Mike, was started by his sister Bex, and on February 15 she had exciting news. Day 69 of the blog was titled “HE SPEAKS!” and detailed how Mike was finally able to croak out a gravelly greeting to his sister. A week later, the blog was updated again to reveal that Mike had begun to sing.

“Lately, Mike has been enjoying some of his favorite songs by Lady Gaga. He has been ‘singing’ along with me and the kids to Bad Romance. That is, when he feels like it,” the blog reads.

The update also spoke of how Bomberger had entered the agitative stage 3 of consciousness. As a part of waking from a coma, patients will occasionally become aggressive in response to stimuli.

“Mike has been entering into the much-anticipated and agitative Stage 3 of consciousness, and even threw a washcloth at a nurse the other day! As much as it hurts to see him annoyed, breaking his cervical collars, and throwing things, this is a huge part of the ‘waking’ process,” his sister writes.