Being a Mesothelioma Caregiver | Kelley and Jimmy Johnson

Kelley: My name is Kelley Johnson and my husband, Jimmy Johnson, has mesothelioma.

Jimmy is the official moneymaker, but I had to come off the road too, to be his caregiver and his advocate.

I can’t imagine somebody that is just jumping into a mesothelioma world can even grasp it, because there’s so many entities. You’ve got the legal world. You’ve got the medical world. You’ve got all this hitting you in the face, and you’re trying to protect your spouse like you would protect your child. And that’s what I do for Jimmy.

Jimmy:  We’ve been married 38 years, we’ve been together 42 years. And without her, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here. She’s helped me get through all this. She’s my rock, she does everything.

With having this disease, I can’t even walk to the mailbox to get the mail. She takes care of basically everything. She’s constantly asking me anything you need, anything you need, anything you need. I’m very thankful for that.

Kelley: I wish he felt better, but he could be laying in a hospital bed gasping, and he’s not. I’m glad I’m there for him. And I would just hope everybody had an advocate like me.