Off the grid and goodbye to Millie
This was our side yard after the storm.
We got over a foot of snow last Friday and it’s going to take weeks to clean up the mess. The power went out Friday afternoon and wasn’t restored until Monday night.
We have a kerosene heater and a propane camp stove, battery- and propane-powered lamps, oil lights and candles. But the heater really only heats one room, so we stayed in the living room most of the four days.
Then Millie got sick. We kept her warm until Monday morning and took her to the vet, but she was in renal failure, a common cause of death for cats.
But she was only 12 and this was completely unexpected. She didn’t show any symptoms until late Friday night and even then she wasn’t in pain, just weak.
Millie took ownership of all my projects, usually before they were finished.
Millie was a feral kitten. Her two siblings had been caught by neighbors and taken to the animal shelter, but no one could catch her. She had been alone for three days under our neighbor’s shed in New York when I finally was able to grab her. She scratched me, but then calmed down quickly and started purring. Within a few minutes, she was askeep in my arms.
When I took her inside our old male cat fell in love. I tried to keep them separated, but every time I walked by the room where she was, they were playing pawsies under the door.
Millie was shy and not many people were fortunate enough to get to know her, but those who did loved her.
She loved catnip, laps and my quilting and crocheting projects. She was a great mouser, and until the day she died, she purred like a motorboat when we petted her.
We’ll miss her a lot.
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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