Friends

The doorbell rang so I went to see who was at the door. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Tom ‘WildMan’ Morse standing there. He gave a weak smile and asked if he could in and talk with me. I said of course, and we both went to the living room and sat down. I never knew how or why he was nicknamed ‘WildMan’, but it was what everyone called him. I believe it was something he had done when he was young and living in South Carolina. 

He was the person who organized the golf outings that I became part of several years ago. He was currently having problems with his kidneys, and we would always take extra time when coming off the front nine and getting ready for the back nine. He took the extra time to go into his RV that we had driven to the golf course so he could perform dialysis on his kidneys. Nobody minded the extra time, and the golf course normally understood the need for dialysis so there was never a problem with doing this.  Whenever the foursomes behind us came off the front nine, we would let them play through until Tom finished the dialysis. Eventually, the need to perform dialysis was eliminated when Tom received a kidney transplant. Although Tom's life was significantly improved, we learned that a kidney transplant is only for approximately fifteen years. As a result, Tom will have get another transplant. This was not good news, but it was better than the alternative.

As Tom took a sip of the soft drink that we had taken from the refrigerator, he looked at me and said he needed a place to stay, and he wondered if he could stay with me until he got back on his feet. I could not believe what I had just heard, and I just sat there staring at him. I finally asked him what happened, and he began his incredible story.

 “As you know, one year ago I had a kidney transplant, and I was reasonably comfortable living with a new girl, Barbara, after Ellen and I were divorced. Then about a week ago, the kidney started to get rejected by my body even though I had been taking anti-rejection medicine. As a result, I had to go back to the hospital, which is where I have been for the last five days. Well, unfortunately, I had to call 911 so the EMT people could take me to the hospital. Well because of that I was not able to contact my employer and tell them what had happened to me. They interrupted my ‘no show’ as a company infraction and they came to the hospital and told me I no longer would be employed by them. Needless to say, that seemed rather unfair, but there was nothing I could do about it. Several days later I was released, and I went back home. When I got there, I discovered that my vehicle was gone, and all my personal belongings were also gone.  It turns out that Barbara had sold everything I had and told me that she no longer wanted to see me. So as of now, I need a place to hang my hat and I am hoping that you can fit me in.”

I was dumbfounded. I could not believe what I had just heard. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I took several deep breaths and finally I could speak. I then said, “Well here is the situation. Yes, I know we have a big house, but Chris’s Mom, Dad, and brother did not work out at the assisted living facility they were in, so they are all living here. Her Mom and Dad are in the downstairs music room, and her brother is in the downstairs back bedroom. In addition to them, there is a caretaker, Mike, also living here and he is staying in the extra upstairs bedroom. As a result, the only place that we have left is the couch that is in the upstairs living room. If that works for you, then you are more than welcome to stay until you get back on your feet.”

Tom then spoke and said, ‘It is certainly better than sleeping on the street, so I am more than happy to sleep on the couch. Hopefully, I won’t be here that long. However, my biggest worry is how am I going to pay for my anti-rejection medicine, since it is very expensive “

I thought about what he said and then I remembered that a neighbor had a similar problem. I then said to Tom, “A neighbor was in a similar situation that you are in but they discovered that if you went to the manufacturer of the medication and told them about your situation, they would significantly reduce the cost of the medication when a person did not have insurance and could not afford to pay for it.”

Tom looked at me and said, “I certainly don’t have anything to lose, so I might as well call up the manufacturer and see what happens.” 

The next day Tom contacted the manufacturer of the rejection medicine and he discovered that they would indeed reduce the cost of the medicine. As a result, Tom felt that he would be able to afford the medication and he was significantly relieved. He now thought that since he would be staying here that he would be able to pay for the medicine with the unemployment money he would be receiving.

Tom stayed with us for several months and worked hard at getting back on his feet. While Tom was staying there, the caretaker, Mike, of the parents of Christine continued his job. Unfortunately, he was also addicted to Heroin and he ended up dying because of injecting Heroin that was tainted. Tom discovered his body lying on the bathroom floor one morning.

Shortly after Mike died, Christine became overwhelmed with the stress of needing to deal with all the personalities living with us.  As a result, it was necessary to ask the visitors to find a new place to life.  Chris’s mother was moved to a high-end assisted living facility and her brother was moved to a group home. In addition, everyone felt that it was time for Tom to find another place to live, which he did accomplish. As a result, the household returned to normal.