7

Now, back to the countdown.

In July, I was invited to Washington D.C. with the Wounded Warrior Project. They assembled a group of 21 caregivers to lobby on Capitol Hill for caregiver legislation. We arrived on Sunday and spent all day Monday discussing our needs as caregivers and reviewing the proposed legislation to see how it met our needs. Our group was a cross section of wives, mothers, and fathers who have provided care for the nation's most severely wounded. I felt out of place in a room full of people who are providing full time, lifetime care for severe traumatic brain injury, severe post traumatic stress disorder, and quadriplegia. But when we spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday with senators, congressmen, and directors of agencies that provide service to wounded veterans, I found that my input was valuable. The biggest concern for a lot of those we spoke to was the cost of this legislation. Opponents to the legislation were estimating that thousands of caregivers would be eligible for support under the proposed programs forever. But I was an example of someone who could have benefited for a period of time, but would eventually (and thankfully I have) outgrow the need. Unfortunately, most of the caregivers in our group would need support for the lifetime of their veteran.

Our efforts met with some success on November 19th, when the Senate unanimously passed S.1963, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009. However, the proposed House Caregiver Bill, H.R. 3155, is not nearly as comprehensive and only provides support for a fraction of the families that would be supported by S. 1963. If you would like to learn more about the legislation and take action to support the families of America's most severely wounded veterans, please go to the Wounded Warrior Project website to learn more.

I learned so much from my experience on Capitol Hill. It was interesting to see how laws are made and it felt good to do my part on behalf of all caregivers. More than anything I came home realizing, yet again, just how blessed I am to have my husband, in every way still the man I married.

I walked back and forth from the Senate to the House

more times than I could count.

But it was worth it!

Caregivers from Texas meet with Congressman Chet Edwards.