Michael Peterson

Hi. My name is Michael Peterson. The request here is for help getting my affairs in order to die peacefully. After 12 years living with liver disease (understood to be the result of portal vein injury by HIV medication), I have decided to take advantage of California’s End of Life Option act SB 380 — the Right to Die. Complications I’m facing are serious and, frankly, unbearable. My life caring for the needs of approximately 50 sheep in rural Sacramento is threatened. Ablebodied, upright walking has come to end, bringing a close to my endeavors of the last 8 years as a shepherd and caregiver. I don’t want to end my life but desperately fear perpetual and continuous suffering … physically, mentally and emotionally. What’s needed is funds for cremation and the burial of my remains by family members, as well as a small cushion to help resolve outstanding financial problems — for example, professional tax assistance needed as a result of a mistake made on one of my federal tax forms … a problem that compounded over time as a result of my disabled state and consequent failure to take corrective action. This isn’t a request for money to fall from the sky indefinitely. It’s simply a request for help digging myself out of a hole … before I slide down into one permanently. There isn’t much to work with here. My checking account balance falls below $100 nearly every month, and world events of the past year (inflation) suggest that I’ll continue to struggle in the face of impossible circumstances. Thank you for hearing this cry for help, and thank you for any small donation. Love life!