We are an advocacy and education group. Our purpose is to educate the public and government officials about the disastrous state of the current health care system and the toll it takes on Americans and their families.
Every year, some 45,000 Americans die prematurely because they didn’t have access to health care. Mike’s story is just the one we know, but it’s hardly the only one.
We are not a political group; we work to bring people together in hopes of reaching a workable solution. Register and share your experience.
Your Stories
E-mail us to have your story shared with othersBobby Butterworth
My Friend, Bobby Butterworth had some chest pains a month ago, on a Thursday. We told him to go to the ER. He decided to wait the evening, because he had no insurance – He felt a hospital bill would bankrupt him and leave him on the street (the ER asks for money up front [...]
Wine & Cheese benefit for Life o’ Mike
The Downtown Market, 45 S. French Broad Ave., will hold a wine and cheese benefit for Life o' Mike 4 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Market.
The event includes a raffle for prizes such as a Jonas Gerard painting, a gift certificate for Shoji Spa, jewelry, handmade scarves and more.
For information, e-mail info@downtownmarketasheville.com or call Life o' Mike at 828-243-6712.
Story o' Mike
Mike was Michael Timothy Danforth, an egomaniac
with self-esteem issues. He was a smart, funny, generous, wise and loving person who died because he didn’t have health insurance.
That meant he couldn’t afford the colonoscopy that might have found his cancer before it was too late. He died April 1, 2008. He was 33.
Mike is one of an estimated 45,000 people who die every year because they didn’t have insurance and so didn’t have access to the lifesaving diagnostic tests, or diabetic supplies that would help them monitor blood glucose, or medication that would help lower blood pressure.
We want to put faces to those numbers. Tell us your story. Post blogs, post photos. Let everyone see that good people are dying — beloved people. After all, every one of those people was loved as much as we all loved Mike.
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a new peer support program for people newly diagnosed with chronic or serious illness or with a new disability and their caregivers.
Patient Pals are people who have experience with various illnesses and disabilities, who can help someone newly diagnosed or with a new disability work through the fear, frustration, confusion and grief often experienced in the first few months.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
People with new illness or disability fare better when they have a role model -- someone who can help them negotiate their new path in life.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
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