The plan is taking shape
More friends and family have said they want to come to the rally in Savanah. My niece Christina wants to come. I might have to pass her a few bucks to get her there, but she and Mike adored each other. She got him tickets to a Slayer concert. I still have the hat, worn and dirty from wear.
Shannon and Matt and the kids are coming, so I’ll get to play with my sweet little Cassie and Liam. Shannon was Mike’s favorite cousin from the time they were very little. It started when he was 4 and she was 3. We were hiking in the woods behind my sister’s house and we came to a fork in the path. Shannon turned around and asked which one to take and Mike pointed to the one on the right.
“That’s right,” Ellen said. “That was really good.”
Shannon looked at Mike with adoring eyes and said, “Oh Mike, you’re so smart. You know eveeything.”
Ellen decided she had to have a talk with her daughter, but it was too late. Mike adored her for the rest of his life, and she adored him. They both have the twisted Boyd sense of humor, and they both know their mothers are more than a little crazy.
We lost Ellen two years ago this week to lung cancer and Mike in April to colon cancer. Shannon and I lean on each other whenever we need support. She’s an amazing young woman.
But then, so is Christina. She’s bold and in-your-face, which Mike loved. But he also loved the sweet, vulnerable side of her that she rarely shows anyone. God forbid anyone know she’s scared or hurt. She’s such a Boyd woman.
I saw Bill Murdock of Eblen Charities today and we can collect money to be distributed to people in need under the Eblen umbrella. So, we’re going to start the Life o’ Mike Fund soon. It will be a part of Eblen Charities to start. It could stay there permanently because Eblen, a home-grown charity, is going places and doing big things, and Life o’ Mike will be part of that.
We’re starting to think we can make a difference. Now we just have to do it.
Have a beer in May
Stop into Altamont Brewing, 1042 Haywood Road, West Asheville, any time in May and ask for their "charity" beer of the day. Buy one and Life o' Mike gets $1. In fact, we get a buck for each one sold. So go in every day and have one to support Life o' Mike.
Thanks, Altamont!
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
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.
Start From Seed
Life o' Mike has a new program- Start from Seed (SFS).
SFS is a volunteer doula program aimed at providing non-medical, comprehensive support to low income, high-risk women and families of Buncombe County focusing on three areas:
1. We help new doulas with certification and training in return for their participation as a volunteer doula for SFS
2. We mentor volunteer doulas with their first few clients
3. Our volunteer doulas provide birth and postpartum doula services to low income, high risk moms, providing support and tools to empower them as a new parent.
A birth doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; a postpartum doula provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Start from Seed clients are referred to us from the Buncombe County Department of Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, Western North Carolina Community Health Services, and Mission Hospital. The Program is intended and designed for growing clients’ inner strength and helping them gain empowerment to help them cope with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of childbirth, labor, and motherhood.
Our new moms and their infants have many needs. If you would like to help them get off to a good start, please visit our Start from Seed web site: Start from Seed, or call Program Director Chelsea Kouns at 804-814-9946.
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