God at work.

The meeting today with Senator Frank Ruff and the Executive Director, Anne McDonnell, of BIAV went very well, I believe.  I simply shared our situation and the fact that there is no facility equipped to handle Mike, plus TBI doesn't fall under any of the established definitions. Anne spoke with Senator Ruff about the funding over the past 7-10 years, number of people being served vs the number needing services, the definition of the proposed Universal Waiver and the need for brain injury to be included in conversations about that waiver. Senator Ruff was sympathetic, but cautioned that whenever lines are shifted, someone always ends up in the proverbial crack. He did ask Anne to e-mail him the key points and numbers before December 5, his filing deadline.

Anne spoke also about the nursing facility BrainTree in Massachusetts and how that costs Virginia $1,000/day per person that is sent from Virginia. That is about 3X the cost of where Mike is, so if Virginia had a similar facility, that would mean 3 people could be served instead of 1, plus it would bring jobs to Virginia. Senator Ruff wondered if the training centers that are being closed across Virginia would be suitable facilities to be turned into something like BrainTree. I don't know if this is an original idea of his or if that has already been circulating, but it sounds good to me.  

I am not a political person, and I have no idea what may come of this meeting, but Anne was quite excited and God's hand was very evident in several ways. 1. How quickly and easily this meeting was set up. 2. Anne was in Richmond today. 3. Timing - 2 days before Senator Ruff has to have papers filed for the next session. 4. Both gave me names of people to contact who may be of help to our particular situation. 5. Our family friend, Harrison Moody, has contacted Delegate Dance to try to set up a meeting. 6. My uncle, Wendell, wrote his delegate. Anne knows her, so the circle is connecting.

I asked Senator Ruff if having family and friends write letters would help heighten TBI needs and action or just be annoying. He said if the delegate or senator is already supportive, then it doesn't really help to bombard that office. What is helpful is to try to get constituents across the state to contact their delegate and senator so that the entire state is hearing the same message, not just one or two districts. So, I believe Senator Ruff has received the message and will do what he can to promote action on behalf of TBI survivors.  For those of you living in other parts of the state, I would appreciate it if you could write a letter to your legislators. We are particularly asking for funding for services for TBI survivors, inclusion in a Universal Waiver that is not restricted by age, and development of facilities within the state to handle those with multiple issues and particularly (for folks like us) neuro-behavioral issues.

After the meeting, I decided to go see a movie. Hit it just right for the one movie that looked good to me (God again!). I arrived at 1:50 and the movie started at 2:10. It was a wonderful Christmas movie called The Christmas Candle based on a book by Max Lucado. I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you get a chance, go see it. 

Thank you for praying!