Laughing with Trey
Danny came up today and brought Trey along . He says Trey conned him into it, but he knows I love hanging out with Trey. We went for a walk at the NC Arboretum. We only did a mile and a half, but I introduced him to black-eyed Susans and Joe Pye weed, holly trees and rose hips. We let Beasley swim in Bent Creek and then get back into the car all wet.
I made bread today and he tried it because Uncle Mike always loved my bread, and he liked it. He tried blueberries, even though he din’t think he liked them because they were Uncle Mike’s favorite, and he was surprised to discover he liked them, so we went out the garden and got some more.
When we got back from our hike, we decided we wanted to watch a movie, so we popped in one of Mike’s favorites. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Again, it was Mike’s favorite. He could recite enire scenes from it.
The first time he saw it, Mike was determined to hate it. We were at the video rental store and he wanted to see one of the Police Academy movies. I had heard all those jokes already and I wanted something a little more sophisticated. Now, you may argue that Monty Python isn’t terribly sophisticated, but they’re brilliant.
So, we went home with Michael sulking all the way. He flounced onto the couch with a make-me-laugh look on his face, and within moments, he was laughing. When the movie was over, he took the tape up to his room and watched it again and again all night long.
Trey got a lot of the jokes and we spent the end of the evening saying, “Run away!” and “It’s only a flesh wound,” “Thou shalt count to three,” and “I’m not dead. I’m feling much better.”
Danny mentioned what pain in the neck it is to take Trey into a restaurant because he just doesn’t sit still.
As we were watching the movie, Trey kept asking questions. Danny said, “You know he’s going to do that through the whole movie, right?”
Yup. It’s the same thing Mike did when he was 9. It brings a bit of Michael back for me, and I jut live for that.
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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