Talking about Mike
I think it’s easier when I’m around people who’ve been with me since Mike died. Everyone wants to know how I’m coping and what happened at the end and on and on.
I’m coping, but it’s harder here. Maybe it’s because I visited my sister’s grave and then my father’s grave yesterday. Mike doesn’t have a grave. He’s in my heart, but there’s no one place I can go where there’s a memorial to him. Once Eblen’s new building is up and the break room is there, maybe that will be good.
My late sister’s neighbors came over last night. I love Gary and Claudia. They were the best man and matron of honor at Ellen and KJ’s wedding. They knew Mike had cancer, but they were horrified to learn that he died because he couldn’t afford a colonoscopy when it might have saved his life.
Gary talked about someone he knew not being able to deal with a tooth abcess because he couldn’t afford it. People die from that. Honest. The infection can spread to the brain and kill you.
Gary owns his own business and he thinks about whether he’ll ever be able to retire and still have access to healthcare. MIke’s death has made him think more about healthcare as a right for all Americans instead of just the ones who are lucky enough to have insurance and/or money.
That’s where I want to start. I want to get people thinking about healthcare as a right, as it is in every other industrialized country in the world. I want people to question the system and then demand change. I’m tired of hearing how we ought to do something. People are dying; it’ time for action.
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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