Amendment 51

The grassroots effort of Amendment 51 did not pass yesterday...I am truly saddened by this. I wonder where we go next.

My perspective as a parent fighting for the rights of my child is not unique...I want what is reasonable and is necessary. When your child has special needs, sending him to school and signing him up for baseball just isn't enough. The need for training in socialization, unique nutritional requirements, significant medical attention, directing dangerous behavior, regulating infantile reflexes which prohibit physical development, facilitating an avenue toward receptive and expressive language...are just a few vital needs of these children. The reality of "necessary and reasonable" daily needs, stretches far beyond what most people consider an exhausting, and financially troubling day.

That's where my frustration with the defeat of 51 comes in. You do anything you can for your baby. Interestingly, Colorado offers phenomenal services...but the costs are astronomical. The wait to receive support through a Medicaid Waiver can take years and years...meanwhile these children either miss their "window of opportunity" or the families deplete their life savings paying thousands of dollars each month for therapy, or the family moves to a state which financially supports their child's special needs. Colorado is currently #48th in the nation for funding those with special needs.

I don't know if voters didn't understand the wording, didn't care, or were so blinded by headline news leaving this issue insignificant on their list of priorities. Perhaps they didn't realize the tax-increase of pennies on the dollar, would not pertain to gas or groceries or their electric bill...but rather on luxury purchases that a truly financially strapped family would not be participating in, anyway...like dining out and purchasing a new sweater at the mall.

Here are two letters on the subject I especially liked: http://blogs.denverpost.com/eletters/2008/11/06/amendment-51-defeated-2-letters/

Well, here again, the lesson I've learned is that I cannot control much...if anything. I can do my part: I can be thankful for our amazing therapists, I can cherish our dear friends and family who have stood by us through our financial and emotional crisis, I can appreciate the humility of asking for and then receiving help, I can continue to pray for guidance, I can keep talking about this issue.

We are blessed, we are truly blessed. I only wish more families could be cared for as we have been.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10