Mike Gould Needs Our Help

Hello friends of Mike. Many of you know that Mike battled throat cancer a few years ago (and won!).  On the day he was declared "cancer free", he found out he has serious heart issues.  He is having open heart surgery on June 4th.  Mike is self employed and with both of these serious illnesses, his ability to work has been very limited.  And folks that are self employed do not have access to Employment Insurance.  His attempt to obtain disability insurance has been shut down by the insurance company on a procedural technicality. So Mike's financial resources have run out.   Mike's recovery time will be about 3 months and he will not be able to work.  For those of us who know Mike, this is very frustrating for him and very stressful which are not good things when your heart is fragile.  So this is where we come in.  If we can work together to raise funds to cover his expenses for the 3 months this will be the kindest gift we can give to Mike to show him our love and support.  So please dig deep and give what you can...no matter how big or small, every dollar will count and will reduce Mike's stress and sleepless nights!  Thank you from Darcey, Bob, Jamie and a host of other friends. 


FUNDRAISING GOAL: $15,000.00


Here is a message from Mike...
"The last six years have been more than just a challenge for me having throat cancer, resulting in sporatic work during recovery. I also had a torn rotator cuff a couple of years later which put me out of work for approximately 6-8 months.  Just as I recovered enough to get back to my regular work (a full spring, summer and fall of 12-14 hour days), I found out I had heart problems needing surgery.  It was on this day I found out I was clear of throat cancer on my six year check-up.  I learned I have severe stenosis of the aorta valve and my aorta is dilated which in time will rupture. As a result I m on very light duty capabilities so I am not to exercise or exert myself in any way which has made my work pretty much down to nil.  The money I had saved from my period of work is next to gone...and the savings I had started in hopes of getting a partial dental plate is also used up. (The radiation caused many of my upper teeth to be extracted so I can only chew food with my front teeth). I cannot collect CPP disability because I did not contribute to CPP for the past 6 years because of my health issues. I have already taken out a second mortgage to try and cover some expenses but am not able to increase this to meet my living expenses.  I am tapped out and seem to have exhausted all of my options.  I really appreciate everything that people have already done for me and it is hard to be in a place where I need to ask for help."