Everywhere I go, I hear people's stories. A few people have asked me to tell their stories on Life o' Mike. We want people to tell their own stories, but many feel intimidated.

Several people have asked me, as a writer, to tell their stories for them. So, here are stories of people who are caught in a broken system, waiting for treatment, waiting for disability to kick in, waiting to become eligible for Medicare and hoping for something better.

My friend Kay Zwan calls it the robbing of the American dream. How can you achieve when you worry every day whether you'll be granted lifesaving treatment by your insurance company or whether the state will cut off the services you need to live independently?

People who are ill or who have disabilities are left to fight for whatever they can get. Many of them feel they have no voice and no control over their own lives.

It's time to put faces on this mess.

So, I'll start with Mike's story, and add, page by pager, the stories of people who are suffering.

If you want a story told, please e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com with your contact information.