Hello Friends. I was recently contacted by Mr. Virgil Anderson, and he asked if I would be willing to share his story with you, my lovely readers. I agreed, so here it is . . .
Mr. Anderson was born and raised in Williamson, WV. His father, a coal miner, passed when Virgil was 8 years old. Virgil worked in demolition work and excavating since high school. This required the physical tear out, and hands on removal of asbestos containing insulation in walls, ceiling, attics and heating and cooling systems. To remove this required saws and sledge hammers all of which sent the asbestos fibers flying into the air. Unfortunately for Virgil the material had to not only be freed from its location but also picked up and carried to the disposal area. Once asbestos is disturbed it can stay in the air for 5 days. On some occasions there was a haze of dust and debris that you could actually taste in your mouth. He also came in contact with asbestos while working on his family’s farm. Virgil was recently diagnosed with mesothelioma, which is a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
When he was diagnosed with mesothelioma he needed immediate medical attention. He found a few websites on the internet that are supposed to help people with mesothelioma cancer but nobody got back to him.
Then he found Mesothelioma.net. Even though he contacted them on a Sunday one of their patient advocates gave him a call back within minutes. They gave him a great deal of helpful information on doctors and resources available to him.
As a result of their website, he is now being treated at the national cancer institute and the patient advocates have even provided him with financial assistance so he could afford a place to live during his chemotherapy. If he had not reached out to this website he would likely be homeless and more importantly in Hospice waiting to die. These people gave him his only chance at survival.
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Thank you for sharing your story with us, Virgil. Thank you for your bravery and I know my readers will agree, we all wish you well for the future.
Hi Murees - Mesothelioma is a really nasty disease - I wrote about it for Heather St James in the States .. a few other bloggers have done similar ... and my post about the Burchell mountains in SA would interest you too ... well done for highlighting what is a particularly deadly silent killer for many - we are very aware here in the UK ... thanks for this - Hilary
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Hilary. I think we here in South Africa need more awareness, as there are still so many places that have asbestos roofing. Thank you for your support.
DeleteThat organization is a blessing. Such a scary disease. Glad Virgil found the help he needed.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by, Alex.
DeleteThere are so many wonderful people in this world. Thank you for sharing your story. We need more of these.
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