A while back, Rehab Resources, the people who provide physical and speech therapy for some of our kids, came to us with a problem. The next state budget proposed to cut their funding by 30%, which meant they’d have to close, despite the fact that they are the only ones in our county who provide these federally mandated services. My wife Ann wrote a letter to our legislators on their behalf, and Rehab Resources asked us if we’d be willing to talk with a TV reporter about the issue too.
While we know that our quadruplets make for good news stories, we’ve mostly avoided such attention. We just want to raise our kids and give them a happy home. Putting them on TV doesn’t make it better for them, so we don’t bother just for the attention. We’ve talked to reporters before to thank the army of volunteers that have helped us out over the past three years, and to plug Rockford Memorial Hospital, which did a fantastic job of giving our kids a fighting shot at the life they now enjoy.
So, when our friends at Rehab Resources asked for our help, we said yes. A reporter and his camera man came into our home and filmed and interviewed us for a couple hours. The report (7.3 Mb) was broadcast later that night.
Within a couple weeks, we got some great news. The legislature removed that vital portion from the budget “for further consideration.” It could still get put back in, but we and the people at Rehab Resources are thrilled so far. That’s local politics at work!
