Gigi

Age 6, Wisconsin

Meet Gigi. She loves to play outside, draw with sidewalk chalk and pedal her tricycle.

Gigi has a congenital heart defect that requires constant monitoring by medical providers, including a cardiologist every six months. During her last open-heart surgery, she was diagnosed with a bleeding disorder that nearly took her life. Gigi is profoundly Deaf and has partial blindness. Medicaid provides almost all of Gigi's home and school-based therapies. Without it, her mother says she would not be where she is now - a happy little girl making great progress toward a successful future.  

Gigi's mom Becky says: "Gigi is adopted. She came to us from an institution where sign language was not offered to her. She was 3.5 years old and had no language. She signs in full sentences now. She is able to tell us her favorite color, her siblings names, when she is hurt. She is able to tell us how much she loves her new service dog. This was all made possible by Medicaid and the therapies that were offered to her to support not only medical healing, but social, emotional and cognitive development. This is what holistic health care does for a child."

Submitted by Gigi's mom, Becky