08/28/2026
I have to tell you guys what happened to me today because I came home so emotional, and I’m still trying to process everything. SORRY IT'S LONG
Today I went to the Pathways to Care event at Jarvis Plaza, and I met a young man named James. James doesn’t use drugs, but he’s going through a difficult time right now and has been staying at Bethany House for the past couple of weeks. Even with everything he’s going through himself, today he was there helping other people.
We started talking, and of course I started telling him about Mykey, his addiction, his death, and why I do everything I do today.
During our conversation, I found out that Bethany House had helped James update his résumé because he’s looking for a job and may have some interviews coming up.
The minute I heard résumé, something hit me.
The last time I spoke to Mykey was on Valentine’s Day in 2016. He told me he was tired of the life he was living. He wanted to change, and he asked me to help him make a résumé and fill out an application so he could find a job.
Myke died the next day.
I never got the opportunity to help my son with that résumé. So here I was, more than ten years later, standing in front of another young man who was trying to get on his feet and find a job, and someone had just helped him with his résumé. That alone made me emotional.
But then James told me something that gave me chills.
He told me that when he first got to Bethany House a couple of weeks ago, he had some things with him, and he basically gave everything away to the people there. He gave them food, beer, and whatever else he had.
While he was giving everything away, somebody said:
“Mira, como el de los cheques.”
James doesn't speak much Spanish, so he didn't really understand what they meant. But today, while I was telling him Myke's story, he remembered hearing that and told me about it.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
I explained to James that when Mykey was deep in his addiction, he stole almost $28,000 worth of checks from me and the company I worked for. He went on a shopping spree. He bought watches, shoes, pants and shirts, but he was also buying food and things for other people. Years later, people from the streets still remember Mykey.
And they remember him as “el de los cheques.”
So imagine me standing there today and this young man, who had never met me and didn't know Myke's story, tells me that weeks before he ever met me, someone had already compared him to “el de los cheques” because he was giving everything he had away to other people.
When James realized what that meant and understood the connection, he literally got goosebumps. Tommy, Missy, Lily and I were standing there and saw it happen. Tommy told him that was the holy spirit 🙌
Then James said something else to me that almost broke me.
He said, “Ma'am, as long as you help one person.”
I couldn't believe it.
Because that is what I ALWAYS say.
If I can help just one person, then everything I do is worth it.
Now I'm standing there thinking about everything at once.
The résumé.
Myke asking me to help him find a job the day before he died.
James trying to find a job.
Someone calling James “como el de los cheques” weeks before he ever knew me.
And then James telling me the same thing I've said for years: as long as you help one person.
I asked him, “James, do you have clothes for your interviews?”
I told him that if he needs a nice shirt or anything for an interview, to please tell me because I want to help him.
And then there was Tommy.
Tommy has his own story. He struggled with addiction himself, and today he is in recovery, happily married, and living a completely different life. I am so proud of the man he has become.
And there I was watching Tommy hold James' hands, bow his head and pray with him.
That picture is going to stay with me.
I came home and cried.
Not because I was only sad. It was everything at once—missing Myke, remembering our last conversation, thinking about what could have been, being proud of Tommy, meeting James, and feeling hopeful for this young man who is trying to get his life together.
Maybe everything that happened today was just a series of coincidences. I don't know.
But it was a lot of coincidences in one conversation with someone I had never met before.
And maybe I'm not supposed to understand it.
I just know that I couldn't help Mykey with that résumé like he asked me to.
But today, another young man crossed my path who is trying to find a job and move forward.
And if James needs a shirt for an interview, some encouragement, help preparing for that interview, or simply somebody who believes he can do it, I can do that.
I can't change Myke's story.
But I can continue allowing his story to help somebody else.
Even if it's just one person. 💜🙏🥺
