One day at a time…
Life o’ Mike board member and friend Carolyn Comeau had good test results last week — her breast cancer is at bay.
But every day, Carolyn wakes up and wonders if she will be the one to raise her two children. It’s a scary way to live.
Carolyn was lucky. She had health insurance. But when her husband, Craig, lost his job, they had to pay for coverage through COBRA. They went through all their savings and were left wondering whether they would be covered after April, when the COBRA coverage runs out.
According to the current law, the insurance company must offer them permanent coverage, but at whatever price it wants to charge. With her history of cancer, it might be cheaper to pay out-of-pocket for treatment than to pay premiums.
So, they still were left wondering what they would do for coverage. Thankfully, North Carolina has just passed a high-risk insurance pool, and it looks like Carolyn will qualify for coverage. It’s expensive, but less costly than the so-called free market, and it won’t cover Craig, whose new job doesn’t offer health insurance. The kids will be eligible for the state’s low-income CHIP plan.
No one should have to live under such a cloud. Carolyn should be able to concentrate on staying well and raising her children, not having to endure the stress of worrying about whether she’ll have access to treatment if her cancer should recur.
This checkup was good. I pray every day that she will stay cancer-free. Carolyn’s a really cool person and a good friend. She’s funny, artistic, generous and kind. She doesn’t deserve to be under this kind of stress. No one does.
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.
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