"And it all developed from there?" say I.
"Pretty much. I was running into difficulties with some neighbours where I lived, I had been living some years in an apartment on the top floor of an old house in East Vancouver, then a couple of coke dealers who were also pimps moved in, and the noise, the parties and their threats and violence became too much. My mom asked me to come stay with her again, but Pamela had already beaten her to the draw. Pamela was the lady who had the big mansion. Plus, I felt called to stay with Stephen and his partner, Pierre, to help out. Pierre didn't have AIDS, but he felt completely lost in space about giving Stephen the support he needed, and I already had some background and experience in caregiving. So, I was there, then Margery moved in.
"Margery?"
"Also known as the Death Watch Lady. A dear friend skilled in palliative care. Then Martin, a young guy with HIV came to live with us, followed by Jason, and Paul. Then a couple of more caregivers came and joined us. Then came Michael, or Father Michael, the priest who was Stephen's biological father, and soon we were quite the full household. There was also a strong, powerful sense of God's presence in the place, and soon, people were refusing treatment and medications outside of pain relief, because there was this burgeoning collective desire that they all shared to come home to Jesus as soon as they possibly could. Then the media caught on, and Persimmon Carlisle, who hosted a controversial news program, blew the lid off everything, and thanks to her coverage and publicity the health department intervened, shut the place down, and sent evryone into hospitals and other care facilities..."
No comments:
Post a Comment