According to a story from Disability Scoop, many military families that have children with debilitating rare conditions or special needs are having trouble getting the care that they need. Many rare diseases and conditions can cause varying degrees of disability and impairment for patients, so access to critical accommodations is essential for them.
The Carriggs
Take, for example, the family of Sgt. Joshua Carrigg. Several years ago, his young infant daughter had to get open heart surgery. Shortly after the operation, he was reassigned from a post in Boston to another base in Washington state. The situation after the transfer was a three year struggle in which the family was denied the services that they needed. One of their sons had a life threatening condition that the doctors there simply chose to deny. The doctors also arbitrarily decided that the same son did not have autism, and instead blamed is behavior on poor parenting. Their daughter was denied the hearing treatment that she needed, and their son with autism was unable to get therapy or a school aide. It was a rough situation for the entire family, but the children especially were affected by this willful neglect.
A Systematic Issue
The Carriggs thought that their situation was an outlier, a mistake made in a system that worked for most. As it turned out, their story is more of the norm as opposed to the exception. Despite legislation ordering improvements for special needs families that are a part of military service, the Carriggs and 35 other military families who have dealt with similar experiences recently issued a written complaint criticizing the poor performance of the Department of Defense in providing for special needs families. The letter also calls for the creation of an office to provide oversight in the task of accommodating these families.
The Carriggs are worried that sending the letter could result in possible backlash; Joshua has served for 15 years so far, and they do not want his career to be compromised. While their kids are currently getting better care, there is still a clear issue that must be resolved.
“You shouldn’t have to fight this hard to keep your kids alive,” says Austin Carrigg, Joshua’s wife.
