Vote!

This is not a political post….just a reminder to go out and do your democratic duty for whatever, however you want to vote

Personally, I will be very happy when this election is over. Colorado is battling over a tight senate seat and I am tired of the campaigns, the commercials. I am tired of the dirty, rotten politics.

And I have lost my voice.

Two years ago, my daughter Samantha and I went to vote. She was two. She had been discharged from the hospital due to a raging MRSA infection for sixteen hours. I packed her up and we went down to the voting center…PICC line, antibiotics and all. And we voted.

We voted….WE, she and I…because I was her voice. I left the polling center feeing so empowered. I was the line between Medicaid cuts, insurance premiums, provider decreases. I had to fight for her….

….and in some cases we lost….in some cases we won but I always felt a sense of satisfaction that at the very, very least, Samantha was spoken for.

This election was a little bittersweet. Samantha is no longer around for me to fight for but the battles remain. I think in times of fear, we as a nation forget those who depend on us the most.

Colorado now has a waitlist for the Pediatric Hospice waiver….meaning that if your child has a life-limiting illness, an illness that requires numerous hospital stays, meds, adaptive equipment, you still have to wait for help. And if your family is struggling mentally, emotionally, with the very real fact that your child might die before you do, you still have to wait for help. The Hospice waiver was the last of the waivers to fall victim to the waitlist but I guess in these times, no one is immune to budget cuts.

It is here that I continue to vote…to fight.  It is here that I realize even though Samantha is gone, her voice can never be silenced because her voice is my voice. And we still have quite a lot of work to do.

So go vote.

When Heather is not exercizing her voice, you can find her at Samsmom.