Our Client Kirk Regained His Strength With Meals From God’s Love

In 2006, our client Kirk became incredibly ill with toxoplasmosis. When he checked into the hospital, his doctors told him that they did not expect him to survive. After a five-week stay, bed-bound and fighting the infection, Kirk was discharged to his home. Weak, and struggling to hear, stand, or speak, daily meals from God’s Love We Deliver helped Kirk regain his strength. We are honored to have home-delivered medically tailored meals to Kirk over the last 14 years.

Kirk grew up in Ohio, which he said was a “great place to grow up, but still I couldn’t wait to get out!” After he went for his bachelor’s degree at Ohio State University, he was invited to share a ride to San Francisco in 1971. “Honestly, I didn’t even know what San Francisco was; I was so naïve.” When he arrived on a foggy San Francisco night, having driven cross country in 3 days, he said the whole city was obscured, but when he woke up in the morning, he said “Oh my god; I was in Oz.”

Kirk liked California, but ever since he was a teenager, he had always wanted to come to New York. “I had read a village voice article about hippies, and I thought well, I’d like to try that.” Of NYC he said, “I fell in love immediately.” He moved here in 1984 with his partner at the time, “it was the very beginning of the AIDS pandemic, and we were naïve.”

While his love of New York lasted, Kirk’s relationship ended after a few years. So, when he was invited to go to Europe to do hair and makeup for magazine editorials, he said yes. He stayed in Europe working in the fashion industry for years, but when he moved home in 1994, he decided to get an HIV test. “Yikes, it came back positive.”

Kirk did not get sick until 2006. “One thing led to another and I got really sick. I had toxoplasmosis.” Kirk checked into the hospital, where he stayed in bed for five weeks. “I was told that I was not expected to survive.” After five weeks in bed, dealing with a crippling infection, he lost the ability to stand. Furthermore, his hearing and speech were diminished. So, when he returned to his apartment, he did not know how he would take care of himself. “I was introduced to God’s Love We Deliver, and oh my god, what a treat, I’d never experienced anything that was so gracious and generous.”

After discharge, Kirk worked with a physical therapist from Sloan Kettering who came to his apartment. He diligently did his exercises, but he says that meals from God’s Love “made all the difference. I gained back my strength. With my body getting stronger and my mind getting clearer, my hearing came back, I was able to speak again, my eyesight improved dramatically.”

We have celebrated fourteen Thanksgivings and birthdays with Kirk. “They remember every year to bring me a decorated birthday cake, with my name on it. It’s like, I’m acknowledged, I exist.”  Kirk stays up to date with how many clients around New York God’s Love We Deliver serves. He beholds this community with awe, “I am so privileged to be a part of it.”

And we are privileged to home-deliver medically tailored meals to Kirk and thousands of New Yorkers every day.