MOWW (Make Our World Well) is a Charitable Not-For-Profit organization established in loving memory of Michael Westover. Our family and friends plan events that bring us together to raise funds for MOWW. The new Paradiso home in Arusha, Tanzania was built by donations to MOWW and we currently support the 26 children living at the Paradiso orphanage. Helping others is a part of our healing, our mission and our journey forward.
Michael Oliver Wade Westover (Sept. 26, 1984 – Nov. 13, 2010)
Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the sun on ripened grain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave bereft
I am not there. I have not left.
Adapted from original version written in 1932 by Mary Elizabeth Frye
I Am His Mom
Angels, please take good care of Michael
Make up for his silent suffering; the inner pain he bore
The anguish and hopelessness
He didn’t want to leave us, but believed he couldn’t “fix it”
“I love you all so much, it is not your fault, I am so sorry” he wrote
We lost our beloved son to an insidious disease
Time does not diminish the ache in my heart
Or how much I miss his smile, his teasing and the sparkle in his eyes
Angels, please take good care of Michael
I Am His Mom
Char – September 2015
Michael was bright, athletic, funny, kind, sensitive and charming. These are the traits remembered by his friends and loved ones.
Hockey was Michael’s passion. His hockey teammates went on to name their team “Westy’s” after Michael’s death.
Michael was academically gifted and was always an honors student. He completed a four year Science degree at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario, and two years of medical school in Ireland.
Michael was very good at hiding his underlying anxiety.
He was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and also suffered from pure obsessional OCD. He was a perfectionist, sabotaged over and over again by his illness. He was tormented with why he couldn’t “fix it”. He said to me “no one could have tried harder”, and anyone who knew Michael knows that to be true. His battle led to hopelessness, depression and death by suicide.
Michael was so loved by all of us, and I know that ironically this added to his pain because he so desperately didn’t want us to worry.
He left us all individual notes and the common thread is
“I love you so much, it is not your fault, I am so sorry”
FR. RON ROLHEISER, states “that, in most cases, suicide is a disease; that it takes people out of life against their will; that it is the emotional equivalent of a stroke, heart attack or cancer; that people who fall victim to this disease, almost invariably, are sensitive persons who end up for a myriad of reasons being too bruised to be touched …”
Michael expressed frustration with the stigma associated with mental illness and told me that he wished he had an illness that didn’t make him feel ashamed. Thankfully, there is a healthy push towards destigmatizing, more education and awareness about mental illness.
I have learned so much about anxiety, depression and suicide in the past five years. If I had this knowledge five years ago, I believe Michael would still be alive. I encourage everyone to be vigilant about the mental health of people you care about and learn as much as you can about anxiety, depression and suicide.
“More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world”
Dirge Without Music
Edna St Vincent Millay