The challenges for families and individuals

Every once in a while, I flip on NPR for my drive home to catch All Things Considered.  And while to some people, this might make me a dork -- I actually really enjoy listening to the news and hearing about stories that you don't typically hear or see on your usual newscasts.  When I changed to the station yesterday, this is what I heard:

You've probably never seen a person hooked up to so many plastic tubes as Olivia Welter. There's a ventilator tube that keeps her breathing. There's a feeding tube that's also the tube for her dozen or so medicines. There are the tubes to the vibrating vest that loosens the mucus in her lungs. Another tube to help her cough. The tube that her nurse uses a couple times an hour to suction the mucus out of her mouth.

It was just the beginning of Olivia's -- a 20-year-old woman living in Illinois -- story, the stories of other individuals with disabilities and their daily challenges.  It also chronicles the fight of Olivia's family to keep her at home and continue to receive the level of care she needs.

click to read / hear story