Posted on January 18, 2016
Since ADAO was founded, over 150 patients and families have shared their stories with us. Through our collective voices and common bonds, we join together to end man-made asbestos disaster.
Heather Von St. James was the first woman to share her story, “The Value of My Life in Dollars and Tears,” with ADAO. As Heather wrote, “I’ve been fortunate enough to have amazing people in my life who have the same passion that I do – to ban asbestos and find a cure. Through our pain, we share a common desire to make a difference that runs in our blood. I’m happy to join together with Linda and the ADAO, to not only bring about awareness to a preventable disease, but make a difference in people’s lives.”
These aren’t just stories – they fuel our work and serve as impactful examples of the human cost of asbestos. For example, we were honored to share these individual stories with members of Congress during our 8th Congressional Staff Briefing in July 2015. Your stories help lawmakers understand asbestos diseases on a human level, hopefully leading them to pass beneficial legislation. Please take a moment to read the inspiring stories in our Share Your Story collection below.
As we begin 2016 and embrace how sharing makes us stronger – you can help in two easy ways.
1) Share Meso Warriors’ Stories with your social networks
Thanks to you, ADAO will continue to raise awareness about these preventable asbestos-related diseases every day until there is a global ban and a cure.
Linda Reinstein
“Share Your Story” Collection
- “It Was Too Much” – Winona’s Story
- “It’s Been Like a Nightmare” – Kathleen’s Story
- “Living For My Family” – Sarah’s Story
- “Raising Hope” – Kurt’s Story
- “Mesothelioma Can’t Take That Away” – Steve’s Story
- “When Not Even the Doctors Can Give Hope of Life” – Marisol’s Story
- “Who’s Next?” – David’s Story
- “Asbestos Took My Soul-Mate” – Bill’s Story
- “A Veteran Exposed” – Norman’s Story
- “Fighter” – Annamarie’s Story
- “The Wind Beneath My Wings” – Pam’s Story
- “An Enormous Shock” – Jim’s Story
- “Robbed of a Fantastic Husband, Dad, and Granddad” – John’s Story
- “Vanished Dreams” – John’s Story
- “Loss of a Soulmate” – Derold’s Story
- “Continue On Each Day” – Shirley’s Story
- “A Thief in the Night” – James’ Story
- “For The Love of Money” – William’s Story
- “A Daily Struggle” – Raymond’s Story
- “A Life Forever Changed” – Gregory’s Story
- “Monster of A Disease” – Vicki’s Story
- “Weapon of Asbestos” – Steven’s Story
- “Last Breath” – James’ Story
- “Monster of A Disease” – Vicki’s Story
- “Secondary Exposure” – Burlene’s Story
- “My Hero, The World’s Hero” – Warren’s Story
- “Nothing Short Of A Miracle” – Barry’s Story
- “Facing Life with Strength and Hope” – John’s Story
- “The Road to Recovery” – Steve’s Story
- “My Hope” – Candace’s Story
- “Traumatic Stress” – Robert’s Story
- “Asbestos Destroyed Our Lives” – Ken’s Story
- “My Daughter Will Not Get to Know Her Grandfather”– Kenneth’s Story
- “Asbestos Has Robbed Us” – Glenn’s Story
- “The Opportunity to Grow as a Person”– Mike’s Story
- “Faded Away” – Gary’s Story
- “The Search For Treatment” – Tamblea’s Story
- “So Much Suffering” – Mimma’s Story
- “Missing Him” – Bill’s Story
- “Absolutely Devastated” – Marvin’s Story
- “Robbed of His Life by Asbestos” – Christopher’s Story
- “Asbestos Kept my Husband from Living the Life He Deserved” – David’s Story
- “Someone Pulled the Emergency Brake!” – Sara’s Story
- “What Ate My Mum? And Will it Eat Me?” – Janet’s Story
- “Oblivious to the Exposure” – Patricia’s Story
- “I Once had it All, Now I am so Lost” – Wayne’s Story
- “I was Left Without my Biggest Supporter”–Alessandro’s Story
- “Mesothelioma Has Changed Our Lives Forever” – Paul’s Story
- “Put a Smile On” – Mary’s Story
- “The Only Comfort We Have Is Knowing He Did Not Suffer At The End”–Lonnie’s Story
- “More Research is Needed Desperately” – Reg’s Story
- “I Was Given a Second Chance for the Purpose of Helping Others Through this Horrible Unnecessary Cancer” – Tina’s Story
- “Pain from Something Every Day” – Marlyn’s Story
- “My Heart will Forever Feel a Pain that Can Never be Replaced” – Calvin’s Story
- “Ensuring Future Generations Are No Longer Ignorant About Asbestos” – John’s Story
- “Rob Fought Courageously Till The End” – Robbie’s Story
- “Asbestos Is a Hidden Evil” – Joseph’s Story
- “Our World Was Turned Upside Down” – Peter’s Story
- “So Many Dead Just for Others Greed” – Paolo’s Story
- “Asbestos is Not Only Bad for You, It Kills You!” – Smoe’s Story
- “Our Lives Will Never Be The Same” – Rudy’s Story
- “Life is Precious” – Tom’s Story
- “Baby I’m Going To Die” – Glen’s Story
- “Only 19 Years Old When He Was Exposed” – John’s Story
- “Her Death Reduced My Life to Rubble” – Paola’s Story
- “Our Hearts Torn Out” – Joseph’s Story
- “A Story No One Should Ever Have to Tell” – Selina’s Story
- “Our Father Was Our World” – Jose’s Story
- “What You Don’t Know Can Kill You” – Michael’s Story
- “My Daughter Will Not Get to Know Her Grandfather”– Kenneth’s Story
- “I’m Fortunate To Still Be Alive” – Lenny’s Story
- “Being a Meso Warrior Takes a Lot of Faith and Hope” – Jill’s Story
- “Fighting Every Minute of Every Day” – Karen’s Story
- “Mesothelioma Does Not Discriminate” – Heather’s Story
- “Our Unending Grief” – Todd’s Story
- “Courage and Strength” – Donald’s Story
- “Mesothelioma Shook Us to the Core” – Don’s Story
- “Giving Everything and Never Giving Up” – Dan’s Story
- “Not Ready Yet” – Troi’s Story
- “One in a Million” – Bernie’s Story
- “Asbestos Not Only Kills People – It Destroys Lives” – Julie’s Story
- “Life Can Change So Fast” – Barry’s Story
- “The Devastating Consequences of Asbestos” – Tony’s Story
- “Finding Hope with Mesothelioma” – David’s Story
- “A Man of Unmatchable Character” – Ralph’s Story
- “Handed a Death Sentence” – Randy’s Story
- “Robbed of His Dignity” – Keith’s Story
- “Asbestos Destroyed Our Lives” – Ken’s Story
- “Living with Emptiness” – Robert’s Story
- “Strength and Honor” – Dave’s Story
- “A Family Devastated by Asbestos Exposure” – Blayne’s Story
- “Living the Nightmare of Mesothelioma” – John’s Story
- “Outliving the Unlivable” – Rachel’s Story
- “Mesothelioma Stole My Second Chance” – Ellen’s Story
- “Changed Lives” – Cathy’s Story
- “Eighteen Months to Live” – Midge’s Story
- “I Just Want to See My Children Grow Up” – John’s Story
- “It Won’t Stop Until They Are Jailed for Murder” – Jean’s Story
- “Constant Pain – Jesse’s Story
- “A Hole in Many Lives” – Bob’s Story
- “Keeping His Memory Alive” – Carl’s Story
- “Our Journey with Mesothelioma” – Chip’s Story
- “Asbestos Has Changed My Life” – Michael’s Story
- “I Thought I Was Going to Die” – Polly’s Story
- “I Will Never Be the Same Again” – Janelle’s Story
- “Fighting This Disease with Everything He Has” – Roland’s Story
- “Information is Empowering” – Randy’s Story
- “Praying for an Asbestos Ban” – William’s Story
- “Mesothelioma Robbed Us” – Joe’s Story
- “Staying Positive” – Mike’s Story
- “Our Family’s Rock” – George’s Story
- “9 Months to Live” – Jim’s Story
- “We Will Love You Eternally” – Darryl’s Story
- “Wanting to Fight It” – George’s Story
- “Trying to Make a Living” – Rebecca’s Story
- “The King of Cool” – Steve McQueen’s Story
- Jorge’s Story (Brazilian Asbestos Worker)
- “In the Midst of the Storm…A Rainbow Shines” – Richard’s Story
- “Images of the Asbestos Ghost” – Jan’s Story
- “Doing Something Positive” – Steve’s Story
- “Reflection of a Life Lost” – George’s Story
- “Full of Impotent Rage” – Jo’s Story
- “Turned Away” – Julius’ Story
- “A Life Cut Short” – Moe’s Story
- “Misdiagnosed” – Gene’s Story
- “10 Year Survivor” – Bonnie’s Story
- “Four Generations” – Laura’s Story
- “A Heart of God” – Elizabeth’s Story
- “If I Should Fall Behind” – Charles’ Story
- “He Has a Place in Heaven” – Russell’s Story
- “Asbestos has literally flipped my world upside down” – Larry’s Story
- “A Father’s Legacy” – Wolfgang’s Story
- “Unsuspecting Heroine” – Doreen’s Story
- “Rudy Doesn’t Live Here Anymore…” – Rudy’s Story
- “Fighting to Honour the Life of a Wonderful Father” – Gary’s Story
- “My Life Battling Mesothelioma” – Jan’s Story
- “I’ll Do Anything to Fight Mesothelioma to Have More Time with My Family, Anything” – Alan Reinstein’s Story
- “It’s Too Soon” – Michael’s Story
- “Robbed of Many More Years” – William’s Story
- “My Life Has Changed 100%” – Janine’s Story
- “Breathtaking” – Richard’s Story
- “I Will Not Die in Vain” – Louise’s Story
- “Women and Mesothelioma” – Anita’s Story
- “An Expectation of Justice” – Stan’s Story
- “A Deadly Workplace” – Subrayan & Murgesan’s Stories
- “The Power of Public Health Advocacy: A Patient’s Perspective” – Julie’s Story
- “I fight on for all our Meso Warriors past, present and future.” – Mavis’ Story
- “India Through My Eyes” – Ravindra’s Story
- “How Many Deaths Will It Take?” – Joe’s Story
- “With Love Comes Hope” – Lonna’s Story
- “Dust into Gold: Banning Asbestos is Good Business” – Paul’s Story
- “Mesothelioma and Me” – Debbie’s Story
- “The Value of My Life in Dollars and Tears” – Heather’s Story
- “My Hero, The World’s Hero” – Warren’s Story
We encourage you to submit your personal stories by clicking here and following the simple instructions on the page. In sharing, comes healing. Remember, you are not alone.