Tennessee Tech men's basketball Head Coach Mike Sutton is in critical condition on a ventilator in a Virginia hospital fighting a rare disease. After being admitted to Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk, Va., on Sunday, Sutton was diagnosed with Miller Fisher Syndrome, a disease which attacks the immune system.

Coach Sutton talks with freshman player Anthony Fisher during the Golden Eagles' game with VASDA last November.

"He's being treated for a viral infection," Sutton's wife, Karen, told the Herald-Citizen Tuesday. The apparent immune disorder that Sutton is suffering from has left him virtually motionless.

"He can't talk and he can barely move his toes. It's a nasty virus," Karen said. "He's wiggling his toes better this morning, better than he was last evening. He's on a ventilator and he has a feeding tube and a breathing tube. There's about seven bags of stuff hanging around him."

Sutton had been hanging out in Portsmouth, Va., with Golden Eagle standout Willie Jenkins and some friends of the family. He went to Virginia to watch Jenkins compete in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which is essentially an NBA tryout camp. After suffering from a nagging cough for about a week, Sutton had a few dizzy spells at the tournament and was encouraged by a family friend to check himself into a hospital.

"It's been very surreal to just have someone who is vibrant and alive and up and moving and then all of sudden can only communicate by blinking his eyes," Karen said. "It's frustrating. He's in an element where he can hardly communicate to me."

Sutton's ailment came as a shock to Tennessee Tech Athletic Director Mark Wilson.

"My only concern is for Mike Sutton and Karen and their family," Wilson stated. "We want Mike to have a quick recovery."

While a complete recovery is expected, it may not be as quick as Sutton and his wife would like.

"The doctor said not to expect instant results," Karen explained. "It won't be an hourly or even a daily basis. It might take a while."

While Sutton tries to recover from this bizarre medical incident, Golden Eagle Associate Head Coach Steve Payne has been put in charge of the day-to-day operations of the TTU men's basketball program.

"That was the request when he was first admitted to the hospital. He communicated to Karen that he wanted Coach Payne to take on the operations of the basketball program and keep the program moving forward," Wilson recalled.

Payne, who has been Sutton's top assistant the past three years, says he and everyone else associated with the program will do whatever they can while Sutton tries to get well.

"Nothing has changed. We are still doing the same things even though he's not here," Payne said. "We've got good people and good kids. We all have to do better. Without Coach Sutton here, we have to continue to do things and don't slip. It's still Coach Sutton's program and we are still doing the things Mike Sutton said to do. That doesn't change whether he's here or not here."