Like hundreds (maybe even thousands) of Observer subscribers, this week’s front page headline stopped me in my tracks. “GoFundMe page set up for stoke victim Mike Meno” it said. OMG! We hadn’t heard a whisper.
“That’s the way I wanted it,” Mike told us yesterday when we paid him a visit at the Clatsop Care Center in Astoria. “The GoFundMe” idea was Kallie’s,” and despite a bit of slur to his words, the pride in his voice was absolutely clear. Kallie, Mike and Vicki’s daughter is bright and beautiful and, I suspect, there was no arguing with her concerning how to help her dad.
Mike and Vicki Meno – from her FB page
There’s no question, either, about the community wanting to know, to help, to pray. During Kallie’s growing up years, the Meno family lived here at the beach. I think half of the Peninsula consulted with Mr. Meno in his capacity as a Physician’s Assistant and probably every single one of them has a Mike story! He’s personable, funny, down-to-earth, and from my perspective, anyway, a great diagnostician. I suspect that’s because he’s a good listener and, first and foremost, gave his patients the very special gift of making clear that we each knew ourselves better than he. “What’s going on?” he would ask. And then he would listen.
When he built his very own clinic here at the North End we were thrilled. When the financial end of things bellied up, we worried and lamented and tried to think of ways to help. When the family moved across the river we were devastated. But, still, some of us found ways to go to “Dr. Mike” when we could, and were delighted recently when new Peninsula arrivals ‘discovered’ his services at an Astoria Urgent Care facility.
Kallie and Mike Meno – from her FB page
We had known for years that Mike was not infallible – he’d had his own health issues and, in fact, not once but several times Nyel’s ailments mirrored Mike’s. It got so Mike would tell him, half seriously, to be forewarned – this or that malady might be next. In the course of yesterday’s visit, his advice to Nyel was clear: “Do not have a stroke!”
During our few minutes with him, we reminisced a bit and talked some about the future, too. “Have you ever considered writing a book, Mike?” I asked. “Oh, the stories you could tell!”
“Maybe,” he said. “But not an autobiography… More like a biography.” I thought about that on the way home. I’m not sure how you’d write your own story as a biography, but if anyone could do it, it would be Mr. Meno! And FYI, the GoFundMe site is:
https://www.gofundme.com/mvc.php?route=search&term=Mike%20Meno
Jan told me about Mike when I went to see her at Clatsop. She stops to see him daily. Years and years ago he took care of my Josh when I brought him into the ER at Ocean Beach with puncture wounds in his back, the result of “pole vaulting” with a buddy’s fisherman father’s grappling hook. Another time Mike took care of an asthma attack Josh had. I have always been grateful for his care.