The story of Virgil
As a young man I worked hard to earn a living. I didn’t mind that it was back-breaking work tearing down old buildings on a demolition crew; I just wanted to make money to have a better future. I didn’t realize at the time that all the dust swirling around in those old buildings we tore down was filled with asbestos fibers.
Later I moved on to more skilled work, but little did I realize that I still hadn’t escaped harmful asbestos fibers. I worked with cars, tearing out hood liners and then learning to be a mechanic, working on all parts of the cars. I loved that work, but no one warned me that hood liners in older cars had asbestos in them to protect against heat and fire, or that brakes and clutches were lined with asbestos. Again, I kicked up dust and I breathed it in.
By the time I turned 50, at which age I should have still been able to work many more years, I was deathly ill. It started with a cough that wouldn’t go away and that got to the point that I struggled to breathe. After first being diagnosed with pneumonia I was eventually told that I actually had advanced pleural mesothelioma from years of workplace asbestos exposure.
I had worked my whole adult life up to that point but had no health insurance, which put me in a difficult position. Fortunately, with some assistance I was able to contact and work with the National Cancer Institute. They helped me find specialists who could work with me even though I had no insurance. The cancer was already advanced at this point, so surgery was not an option.
I have been undergoing chemotherapy in an effort to slow down the progression of the disease, but unfortunately this is a terminal disease. I am lucky to have family who helps care for me and support me and doctors who are caring enough to provide the treatment that is helping me feel better. With my family by my side I continue to fight this rare and terrible form of cancer.