Mickey is Dying
Temporada 1
por Mickey Weems & Donna Blanchard
The words of a well-meaning friend strikes a nerve with Mickey, while a stranger finds connection through the podcast. Cancer has Mickey engaging with his past in a new way as a lifetime of education comes into play. An evening out illuminates the simple joys that help push the pain away.
Gym time is rough for Mickey. Yet while he weakens each day physically, he is getting stronger spiritually. The team reflects on their personal experiences during the pandemic, and the sense of community having emerged from it. Hurting everyone you love by leaving is a painful reality, but there is also beauty to be found.
A trip to Kauaʻi and the affection of friends re-energizes Mickey after his worst night yet. While the balance between life here and the beyond continues to shift for Mickey as the connection with Donna deepens through the podcast experience, Mickey's rambunctious spirit may be causing unintended interference. Quantum physics and a nun with mana become part of the equation.
Mickey rides emotional ups and downs as he becomes a celebrity of sorts through his cancer and a conduit for people in pain. Yet helping strangers, and suffering along with them, also has its rewards. Donna opens a Book of Questions.
Though connections to the spiritual world have become more intense for Mickey as his cancer progresses, the experiences that validate that world for him may not be obvious to others. Next stops: mood changes with a new medication, adventures in pet sitting, and a train ride with a wise, wild woman.
With more and more of Mickey's conversations and creative outlets dealing with issues of dying, Mickey hopes he isn't becoming a downer to the people around him. Yet as he finds himself increasingly moving between two worlds—the here, and the hereafter—it also seems some spirits like to live it up as much as he does.
Fatigue hurts the body and mind. Yet Mickey's training as a lifeguard and Marine make quitting a tough topic. The notion of rating pain and knowing when that last line has been crossed are explored.
An increased need for the catheter and a case of the Mondays are nothing compared with what's left unsaid. Mickey reflects on a missed moment at a clinic, and how having cancer doesn't always make talking to others with cancer any easier.
Skipping the treatments that would extend his life, sometimes Mickey (almost) forgets he has cancer. Then a new symptom and increasing fatigue signals its presence. In the time he has left, Mickey is working on improving his faults. The fear of not doing enough for the people he loves is still scary, but dying doesn't have to be.
Mickey's dreams have been taking on interesting new forms, while being there for his friends in this world and from the other side remains a priority. Thoughts on heaven, hungry ghosts, and how tears sometimes bring clear sight.