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This Mother’s day, we honor your love, care and support as family caregivers.
Over 1,000 children in Colorado, receive home health care and other supports from family care givers,
allowing them to live at home and thrive in the community.
--Hi, I am Elizabeth Mackinshuse, I take care of my granddaughter Shevone Dan, who is 17 years old,
she lives with me during the week and goes to home to her parents during the weekend. I have been her primary care giver for 16 years…
16 years, she travels with us, she does both, marching with people walk, she walks in 45 states,
including Hawaii and Alaska, she is a very joyful child, a loving child, or young lady I should say,
she is not a child anymore, it’s hard to remember that. She loves to wrestle with her dad,
she loves to cuddle with her mom, she cuddles with her grandfather and stays with him in the afternoons,
she gets in my lap and she tosses at me.
She is a senior high school this year, she will go to transition starting in the fall, she’ll go to school 3 days a week and in the community 3 days a week,
and she will graduate in 2016.
--Hi, my name is Michelle Corbee, and I have 3 children, one teenage boy, he is 14, his name is Isaiah, one middle child Ashley she is 11,
and my youngest child Emily, who has autism, she is non-verbal and about 70% delayed, so she is almost 8 years old but cognitively she is about 2,
and I am her primary caregiver at home, I am fortunate enough to have other family that love her just as much as I do,
so they are dedicate to her care and her development just as I am. Our daily life is very busy, lots of soccer, lots of swimming, lots and lots of therapy,
but, I am very glad that I am able to do that for Emily, if we were not able to be her caregivers,
she would be in an institution somewhere to care for her, but because we love her so much we are willing to put in our blood, sweat and tears
to get as much out of her as she can give, so she can reach her full potential, and as she has a lot of behavioral issues,
so sometimes it really is blood. Sometimes is a lot of sweat, but nobody can love her like we love her,
and I know nobody can help her reach her full potential as we can because of that,
so I feel very lucky that I can stay at home and be her caregiver and do our absolutely best for her.
She is a happy, healthy little girl, and she is just full of life and I am just so happy she can live with our family
and be a normal part of our family life and I am thankful that I can help her to reach her full potential.
--My name is Ashley and this is my daughter Evelee, she is 6 years old and she has cerebral palsy, I am fortunate enough to be her caregiver,
Evelee was diagnosed at 8 month birthday, at that time, a Medicaid representative told me to put her in a home
because she’ll be too much of a responsibility as a caregiver and as a mother for her, and of course,
I didn’t think that was an option for us, so ever since that day we have been fighting to the nail
to ensure that she has the best care possible, and I dedicated my life to that, and I became a CNA
CNA and it was not my life long goal to become a CNA, but as a mother you do whatever
you need to do to ensure that they have the proper care and to ensure that…
that was my option.
When Evelee was diagnosed to CP, the outcome basically that she would never eat or drink or … walk… crawl…
and she just had paladar surgery done 4 months ago, and she is now 7 months ahead of schedule
because we dedicated so much time and energy to ensure she gets the best possible care and as you can see, she is now walking, which she…
we were told she would never do, and now she is all over the place, so...
I would never put my daughter in a home and I will always make sure that she has the best care as her mom and as her CNA
and I am a very lucky person and live every day as if is the last because you never know what tomorrow brings so,
I am very happy to share every second with her.
In Colorado a new Assessment Tool has jeopardized that care and cut services by 30 to 80% for as many as 400 of these children.
Please contact Medicaid today at: homehealth@state.co.us or at 303-866-3447 to urge them to suspend the cuts and restore the services these
families need until a better tool is develop and tested.
Edited and Produced by: Nathan Anderson