Personal Stories part 3(Grady Lee Eidson)

Grady Lee Eidson, a machine operator from Michigan, passed away in 2004. Asbestos has been found in many materials that Grady used throughout his life: the drywall he used as a general contractor, roofing shingles he used in roofing houses, and bathroom tiles used in his own home. It also was present in the General Motors manufacturing plant where he worked for thirty years.

The companies that used asbestos failed to inform Grady and the public about the hazards of asbestos. Now more than one million people across the country, including Grady Lee Eidson, have died or been injured by this hazardous mineral.

Grady married his wife Shirley twenty-seven years ago. In addition to raising their two children, he took in and cared for her four children as his own. He was always there for Shirley and the family, and nursed Shirley back to health when she had lung cancer that required surgery in both lungs.

After he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, Shirley and the family watched helplessly as Grady's health deteriorated. To this day, they suffer incredible pain with their loss, especially feeling so helpless knowing that there was little, if anything, they could do to help him and stop this disease from strangling the life from him.

Despite endless treatments, medications, surgery, and CAT scans, Grady passed away on January 25, 2004. Grady was a very strong man who fought to the very end. Shirley was with him when he was diagnosed and saw the fear in his eyes as he got down onto his knees. She still remembers his words: "I'm going to fight this, and if I don't win this fight on earth, I will keep fighting from heaven to try to save others from this horrible disease."