Introducing Ino
Ino and I were friends since childhood. We met at a sword bopher event called Melee. Every Sunday I walked to Civic Park from my house to sword fight with foam covered PVC with my friends and about thirty other people. It was a lot of fun, and it spawned many life-long friendships.
Ino always seemed older to me when we were kids, but we were about the same age. He was forced to fight and survive and missed out on the indulgent peace that most children receive.
He was fun, creative and had a great sense of humor and I loved spending time with him. He lived in the middle of nowhere between farms a far cry from my house so we rarely hung out. Most of our time was spent talking about stories and enjoying role-playing games. I didn’t have many opportunities to spend time with him, but I cherished every minute.
Throughout the week we would talk on the phone, laugh, and explore our thoughts. Eventually like most of our friendships they slip through our fingers, and we lose touch. This happened when his house burned down, and he was forced to move. It happened suddenly and he lost my phone number and we drifted out of each other’s lives.
Several years later in my early twenties we crossed paths once again. This time he lived much closer, so we could hang out more, but this was short lived. Life tends to pull us in unexpected directions, and we lost track of each other.
Many years later he started working at a local comic bookstore in my area. We ran across each other and rekindled our friendship as though no time had passed. We started roleplaying again and hanging out. He was one of my best friends and I loved spending time with him, he was like a brother to me. He was there for me when my relationship with my blood kin started falling apart and listened to me in my trying times. We shared many hardships in life and endured similar kinds of strife. He and I bonded on our dark spots and built a beautiful friendship. As time passed our lives shifted and once again he moved away.
This time he moved to Las Vegas to live with his mother and her boyfriend. We spoke many times each week, keeping up with each other’s lives. He talked about the great things happening in his life and how happy he was most times. As the months moved forward his living arrangements became more uncomfortable and hostile. Apparently his mother’s boyfriend was berating and insulting him and asking more of him than Ino thought was fair.
When I learned I had cancer one of his other friends suffered a serious injury and needed some help. He left Las Vegas and came back to Saint Louis to help his friend. Knowing he was returning I asked my mentor if he needed someone to work in one of his stores. I told him about Ino and his ability to work with computers and creativity. My mentor hired him at my request, providing him a job he would otherwise never get.
He started his job, and I had my surgery. About two weeks later after getting out of the ICU he visited me at Jamie’s house. He told me to come outside to meet him. Casey was with me, and we went outside to greet him. He showed off his brand-new car, it was clearly expensive and fast. I thought it was strange for him to purchase a new car so quickly, I wondered what would happen if the job didn’t work out. I guess he thought that my clout passed on to him. I shrugged off the thought and complimented his car.
We went inside and were greeted by Jamie and her mother. We chatted and laughed but the voices of my nieces and nephews were grating on my ears. I was in a lot of pain and the medicine I took made me grouchy. We went upstairs to the bedroom I was sleeping in, and Ino sat on the bed. With a loud clatter it broke beneath his butt. Everyone was shocked and stood staring at the broken bed. We tried to fix it, but like Humpty Dumpty none of the king’s men could put it back together again.
Ino went downstairs and summoned Jamie to show her the damage that was done. She was annoyed but compassionate and attempted to fix it with no success. I felt bad about what was done to her property, and we all wished it could be fixed. She left the room, since there was nothing she could do.
Casey, Ino and I hung out for a few hours, laughing playing cards, and spending time with each other. Eventually Ino had to go, and I walked him to his car. As we stood outside, he said I should really think about having someone live with me. He said I would not be able to take care of myself during treatment and would be a danger to myself if I were left alone. If I wanted to survive I needed someone to live with me.
This terrified me, I just survived the removal of my lung and I panicked. I wasn’t about to endure that hell just to die because I didn’t have someone living with me. Frantically I tried to find someone to be my caretaker on short notice. I found no one, and no one suggested I seek a professional caregiver for support. Thank goodness Ino was there to fly into save the day! He said he would be my caretaker, keep the house in order, prepare my meals, keep the cat litter box clean and provide me with transportation. In exchange for this, his rent was free. I eagerly agreed.
