October 23, 2005

Should've knowns



I should have known that Steve was let go from the hospital because he (and 200,000 other needy people) lost his TennCare coverage. He can't remember exactly when it stopped but, it's been a while. I found him and Brandy yesterday, sitting near the interstate bridge where they've spend so much time these last few months. The temperature dipped Friday night so I was happy to learn that he'd spent the night at a friends house.

October 22, 2005

Out Looking

The day before yesterday, I went looking for my old friend and subject Steve, who's been living on the street now for seventeen months. Some of you may remember that he was courageous enough to basically slit open his veins and bleed on this page back then, giving readers an up close look at a world some of them couldn't have otherwise imagined. He was brutally honest about his addiction, his choices, and his future.

I went looking for him this time, because it would seem, Steve's future is now.
The last seventeen months haven't been good to him. He suffers from a variety of illnesses including cirrhosis of the liver and all it brings with it. His close friends haven't seen him since he was released from the hospital sometime last week, his hands and feet so swollen, he could no longer walk.

This begs the question, what sort of system is it, that turns a man out onto the street to die under a bridge? Also, as another friend pointed out, why is it we have the audacity to think that the rest of the world ought to want such a system?

Anyway, I'm still looking and when I find him (assuming I do) I'll post a fresh picture of him here, whether he looks like a rock star or not.

(Note to Google: I'm also looking for someone's mom. Her name is/was Nancy Sue Hill and at one point, she lived in or near San Antonio, Texas. She has a son named Steve too, but it's a different Steve. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact me privately. Thanks)