At 87 years old, Dorothy Mitchell made an unconventional choice that stunned her family: she fired her home care nurse and hired a tattooed biker named Michael to help her with daily life.
Living alone in her apartment for decades, with advanced Parkinson’s disease and osteoporosis, Dorothy had grown tired of being treated like a checklist item by rotating caregivers. Michael, a kind and gentle man, had first helped her out of a difficult situation outside her building.
His daily visits quickly became a source of companionship, laughter, and care that Dorothy had not experienced in years. Unlike the nurses sent by agencies, Michael treated Dorothy like a person, not a patient. He remembered where she kept her crackers and tea, helped with medications, assisted her mobility, and engaged in real conversation.
