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| 12/5/2008 1:51:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Disabilities and Amendment 51
To the Editor,
The election results are bittersweet: While I am excited about our country's new leadership, I am disheartened that Amendment 51 did not pass, even with the bipartisan support it generated. Over 10,000 Coloradoans with developmental disabilities will be waiting years for basic services, and the waitlist continues to grow.
My brother, Marty, is 46 years old and developmentally disabled. Marty was born with congenital heart disease. At the age of one, he underwent open-heart surgery to close two holes in his heart. He received too much oxygen during surgery, and his brain was permanently damaged. Marty is partially paralyzed on his right side and is prone to respiratory illnesses and lockjaw. He takes three different medications three times per day to control his grand mal seizures which, at times, have rendered him comatose. He has developed osteoporosis and cannot be removed from the medication that caused it.
While Marty needs daily personal care to ensure his medications are taken, his diet is followed, he gets enough sleep, and he dresses appropriately, he also needs: speech therapy because he is difficult to understand; employment services so that he can be supervised while doing meaningful work; recreational and therapeutic programs in which he can participate; and transportation. As Marty ages, he will need more supported-living services due to his seizure activity and his osteoporosis.
Individuals with developmental disabilities are living longer, many of whom are living with caregivers over 60. Funding and support for individuals with developmental disabilities need to happen now. As Charlie Lakin stated in 1998, when he wrote "On the Outside Looking In," an article on the developmentally disabled and waiting lists, "Nothing seems more futile than waiting without a sign that people remember you are there."
Thanks to those of you who voted "yes" on Amendment 51.
Marsha Unruh
Colorado Springs
(Note: Colorado Springs is within the three-county area of Park, Teller and
El Paso counties served by
The Resource Exchange, which
builds independence for people with developmental disabilities.)
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