MEET MICHAEL

 

Amazing accomplishments don’t come easy. It has been said that if you put your mind to something, you can do it--and Michael has done just that! With no professional training--but with a fierce and empassioned determination--he set out to run the LA Marathon in March of 2007!

 

Says Michael of that day: “It’s amazing when you let it sink in that

tens of thousands of people are cheering for you and giving you

Gatorade and oranges...and the firemen shower you with lots of

water if you want it. I went into every waterfall they made and

got soaked!

 

“When I saw the 26 mile marker and the finish line...and the

beautiful downtown buildings around me and thousands of

people cheering...and the photographers...it hit me what I had

done. Tears started pouring out of me and I ran as hard as I could despite the pain...and I crossed the finish line with ‘agony and ecstasy’ and tears on my face! You know - just like it would be in a movie. Wow...”

​

Michael, a resident of WHCHC’s Palm View Apartments since 2001, was living in Nevada when he received a call from the Actors’ Fund that his name had been selected to receive an apartment at Palm View.

​

Michael had been very ill with HIV when he arrived at Palm View, but has recovered beautifully during his years there. “Knowing that I have affordable rent and help from the Actors’ Fund is really a great comfort to me. It is a beautiful building--everything you could ever want--and for the first time in my life, I have instant hot water for my shower!”

​

An actor for 20 years, Michael practices on his piano and sings occasionally, but is looking to get involved with an acting group again, perhaps reading plays and discussing the craft of acting.

​

A former partner was Michael’s inspiration to become a marathon runner. “The support you feel from the crowd is beautiful and powerful and I wish everyone could feel that.” Michael was once on the other end of that support when he followed his partner around the world on his marathons. Michael also completed a 5K Revlon Run/Walk in May of 2007 with the Actors” Fund Team.

​

When he was “just” a spectator, he wrote a poem because he was “moved and inspired by runners hearts to do this inhuman feat.” After completing the LA marathon, he talked to a fellow runner, inspiring him to run next year. “Now I was the one inspiring (someone else) to run. Full circle. If you have ever even thought about running a marathon...do it.”