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Summarized by Janus Wilkinson
LDS Father Struggles With Life-Threatening Illness
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Mike Pollard, a 40-year-old father of five,
is fighting for his life. He suffers from a disease called hollow
viscous myopathy and it's killing his digestive system . It is
almost impossible for him to keep food down and his weight has
dropped from 210 pounds to 145 pounds in a few months. He now
relies on a feeding tube for nutrition.
He is a good candidate for a four-organ transplant.
Doctors would
need to replace his stomach, duodenum, intestine and pancreas. But,
the expenses will be incredible and like most health insurance
policies, his has a lifetime limit. Friends and family have done
everything from bake sales to car washes to help with
expenses.
This is not exactly the life the University of Utah graduate planned.
He had been a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in Burley, ID. Later, he returned and married Tammi Morley.
They spent more than a decade in Utah while he earned his degree in
specialized economics and later worked for Amware. Pollard and his
wife have five children: Jessica, 15; Jason, 13; Jenna, 10; Jordan,
7; and Jamie, 18 months.
More information about Mike Pollard and Hollow Viscous Myopathy is
available online at http://www.safelink.net/mikepollard/.
Source:
Dying dad hopes for 4-organ transplant
Deseret News 21Sep00 P2
By Lois M. Collins: Deseret News staff writer
Expenses mount as Idahoan fights to remain alive
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