In Memoriam, My Father: Mike Caten

My name is Devin Caten. I never thought I’d be in this position, at least not anytime soon. This fundraiser is for the cremation and memorial expenses for my father. His prognosis is grim and we most likely only have days left with him. Our father has not been in our life much. My sister, Hailey Caten, and I were raised by our mother Jill Burge. I had not seen my father since 2009. I got the call early this year from my mother that a John Doe has shown up to the ICU and that he had an emergency contact in his wallet which happened to have my sister’s name on it. We instantly knew it was him. He had a brain bleed and was unconscious for two days on the streets. We still don’t know who called him in or where he was. Our father struggled with alcoholism and drug use. He was homeless and often moved about and couch surfed. Recently, he claimed that he wanted to change. He didn’t want to drink or live on the streets anymore. Unfortunately, it was discovered that he has stage 4 melanoma that has spread throughout his brain, heart, stomach, liver, etc. He went to radiation and did the chemo because he told us he “didn’t want to give up.” Through it all, I’m just so glad to know he has a roof over his head and he was able to have a warm meal everyday. Our dad doesn’t have much time left with us here on this Earth. We have decided to have him cremated and have a small memorial service for him. This will be around $1,600. I never thought I’d have to ask for money so publicly, let alone for my dying father I never thought I’d see again. Because he was homeless, he had no assets or insurance and we have no other way to pay besides out of pocket, and a small amount he will get from Medicaid. OTHER WAYS TO HELP: Feel free to keep me and my sister in your thoughts and prayers. Everything helps. I will keep this post updated as we know more. Please share this post. Every share helps. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.