Elliot

Elliott

Age 4, Maryland

Meet Elliott. Elliott loves seeing new people and new things, and is always up for an adventure. He enjoys reading books, going outside to play, dancing to music, and going for walks in his gait trainer. Elliott absolutely loves school, where he is very social, greeting his teachers and the other students. He loves to count, knows the alphabet and can spell his name, and is learning about weather! His IEP allows him accommodations for his mobility devices, extra therapy for vision, PT, and OT, and additional time to eat. Elliott was born with esophageal atresia and had surgery to correct it when he was one day old. He spent over eight months in the hospital during his first two years for surgeries to repair his trachea and esophagus, to deal with intestinal complications, and for numerous bouts of pneumonia. He has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair and a gait trainer to explore his world.

Elliott's mom Caroline says: “Elliott's medical care during his 3.5 month NICU stay would have exhausted his pre-ACA lifetime caps. The Affordable Care Act has allowed him to access high-quality medical care without a lifetime limit, covering critical surgeries which allow him to eat by mouth and recover from a simple cold without hospitalization. Today, he is just a regular kid who needs physical therapy and accommodations to access the things that most people take for granted. ACA-repeal would mean no access to mobility equipment, like his beloved gait trainer or his wheelchair, and no coverage for physical and occupational therapy. Elliott has worked hard for his current level of mobility, and deserves access to hospitals and doctors, no matter his medical requirements.”

Submitted by Elliott's mom, Caroline