In Loving memory
Our memorial service tonight was beautiful. Gary Kovach spoke about the injustice of denying care to the poor and homeless; Emma Clare Hoffman talked about worrying whether she’ll ever be able to get insurance because she was treated for anxiety and depression.
Robbie Williams spoke about poor families and told the story of a single mother who can’t afford even the least expensive insurance policy, so she lives in fear that she or one of her children might get sick.
Then Byron Ballard came up and talked about witches (she is a Pagan priestess) being the ones who acted as midwives, helping bring new life into being, and as midwives who helped people out of life at the end. She talked about how unjust it is that mothers are having to “midwife” their children out of this life because they couldn’t get care in time to save them.
“The wealthy can afford the best care for their children, and if it isn’t available here, they’ll bring them to Durham or fly them to New York … because the care is there if you can afford it.”
She read a beautiful Celtic end-of-life prayer and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place when she was done.
I thought I would be able to get through Mike’s story without crying because I so often do, but there was no getting around it tonight. I read the 23rd Psalm because it has always been God’s way of telling me all will be well because God is with me.
I told Mike’s story — about his recovery from addiction and his passion for helping others, about the lives he saved. I talked about his twisted sense of humor and how I ache with every beat of my heart because he’s gone.
Some people say what I’m doing is political, that I’m a socialist. Call it what you will, but I believe access to decent health care is a human right, and no mother should have to midwife her child out of this life and go on without him just because he couldn’t get the care he needed before it was too late.
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.
Post a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.