Cher, the international movie, TV and pop star, has a song in her vast repertoire called “I’m No Angel." But you couldn’t prove it by Joseph Sullivan of Northport.The 16-year-old has muscular dystrophy. He can move his head and fingers but little else. His mother, who is 69, is disabled from two strokes. Sullivan lost his Medicaid coverage this summer when his survivor benefits from his father’s death increased his monthly income to $13 over the agency’s $599 limit. When Medicaid was cut off, his family couldn’t afford the $190 a week cost of home health care that helped keep Sullivan bathed and dressed. Without those simple amenities, his hopes of leaving his house and eventually returning to school were dimmed. A local dentist, Dr. Tony Davis, heard of Sullivan’s plight and contacted Cher, who has been helping children with disabilities since her movie“Mask," which focused on a disfigured teen. She donated $550 for two weeks of home health care, saying that she hoped the money would inspire others to help the Sullivan family. Now the Area Agency on Aging for West Alabama is providing the family $1,200 from money set aside for caretakers older than age 60. Along with the seed money from Cher, it will cover Sullivan’s home health care through October. Meanwhile, others have donated nearly $450. Cher might be the first to admit that she has not always lived an exemplary life. But there is no denying the good that she has done in helping to publicize Sullivan’s plight. In an age of cold glitz and hot Hollywood scandals, her involvement shows that celebrity can be a positive force as well. We hope it inspires many others to help the Sullivans.
So Jen asks, what did Cher do that was so bad to deserve this little offhand slap? I posit that AL is starting a smear campaign against Cher to discredit her good works in helping the Sullivans. Shame on them.
By the way, her old name is Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre Bono Allman.
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