Archive for August, 2008

Harry and Louise are back

This is not good news. You might remember Harry and Louise as the fictional couple in the medical-industrial complex ads when Hillary Clinton was trying to figure out a way to get access to health care for all Americans. They planted fear into Americans’ heads and defeated health care reform. What if we can’t choose [...]

More Americans have insurance now

A recent article from NPR’s All Things Considered reports that the number of Americans with health insurance went up this year. According to a recent Census Bureau study, in 2006, 47 million didn’t have insurance; only 45.7 million didn’t have coverage in 2007. The 1.3 million who now have coverage are mostly children under Medicaid [...]

One down …

It wasn’t 2,000 people, but about 75 people showed up and we had a good rally. We told stories about Mike and about other people. Danny talked about his experiences with the system, and a dozen others got up and talked about theirs. Even Trey took the microphone for a second to say he misses [...]

Almost there

It’s 1 a.m. and I’m about to fall asleep. I’m exhausted from all of this, but I was doing fine taking care of last-minute details — until this afternoon when I would up looking for something in the utility closet. I turned around to see all the kids’ measurements on the back of the [...]

Plaid and proud

We’re just a few days out from the rally now and I’m starting to wonder how I’ll fit everything I need into my car. The banner, the table, the amp, the carpet for underneath the table, photos, luggage, my guitar (so Trey and I can play a little).
And then there’s the details. I’ve never been [...]

It wasn’t a choice

From the time I was a kid, I questioned authority. The late 1960s was a good time for me to come of age because other people were questioning authority too. This time reminds me a lot of that, except nobody seems to care as much about corruption in high places and there’s nobody like Bobby [...]

Other People’s Stories

We’ve been hoping to get some people to tell their own stories here — a couple of friends have told me they don’t want to be the first, or they don’t think having to stay in a job they hate because of the insurance compares to losing a kid.
All the stories are valid. People shouldn’t [...]

One in three uninsured people have a chronic illness

According to a study from The Annals of Internal Medicine, out of 36 million people without health insurance, 11 million have been diagnosed with a chronic illness. How many more suffer with chronic disease that don’t know because they haven’t even been able to get to a doctor to get diagnosed? How much more will [...]

At least somebody’s comfortable

This press release from the N.C. Justice Center landed in my inbox the other day:
“Every year more North Carolinians join the ranks of the uninsured, and every year elected officials fail take the necessary steps to expand access to health care in the state. Perhaps the reason politicians are sluggish to respond to the health [...]

Getting closer

We got the official approval to use Daffin Park in Savannah in the mail yesterday. I’m excited and I’m scared, and I miss Mike so much. I know he would have loved all this attention, although none of this would be happening if he had lived.
The US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt [...]

Help Life o' Mike

We need your help now more than ever. Your tax-deductible donation will help us get Patient Pals and Family Friends off the ground. Please consider a gift in honor or in memory of a loved one.

Patient Pals & Family Friends volunteer training

Our Feb. 27 training had to be postponed, but we have rescheduled. Join us 10 days, as we train our next group of volunteers for Patient Pals & Family Friends. The four-hour training will run 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and will include lunch. Patient Pals are people who have experience with an illness or disability. After training, they will be paired with someone who is newly diagnosed or disabled. Family Friends will be volunteers who are paired with family members of people who are ill or disabled, and will have been through the expeience of having a loved one with illness or disability.

In Loving Memory

Life o' Mike has participated two memorial services to remember those who have died from our broken health care system, one in Asheville and one in Raleigh. If you would like to organize more of these services, please contact lifeomike@gmail.com and we will help put it together. The services include stories, prayers and information on how people of faith can make a difference. About 45,000 people die each year because they don’t have health insurance, according to a recent study by Harvard Medical School and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That breaks down to one American every 12 minutes. Those people can be honored in the service by a bell chime and a moment of silence every 12 minutes in the service. For more information, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712.

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