Embraced

 The story is far to familiar for me, but for most- it is not so familiar and the irony is- it is right here in our own backyard......

    A 28 year old mother of 4, with a 9 year old son who broke his leg.  Ironically, he broke his leg while she was in a training program for a new job, which forced her to leave the program to tend to her son's broken leg.  This left her, once again, without a job.....uninsured, sitting in the ER, she sat wondering how she would pay the bill.  Released from the hospital, she carried her son home, whom sat idle as mom dialed clinic after clinic, searching for a pair of crutches for her son.  For the past week and a half, she was carrying her 9 year old son, who's blue cast started at his toes and made his way to his hip,  from couch to table, to anywhere he needed to go.  A simple pair of crutches was what she needed.  That is it.
   
     My phone rings.  I am driving to a meeting with an orthopaedic surgeon to tell him about Embraced and how setting up a collection bin in his office, which collects crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, etc can and does make a huge difference right here in Atlanta and across borders as well.  A tired voice on the other end of the phone tells me that she talked to someone, who talked to someone, who told her we (Embraced)  might be able to help.  She told me she applied for medicare but had to wait 45 days for that to kick in...so essentially, she had to wait 45 days to get a pair of crutches, which meant that a 9 year old might miss 45 days of school because of a broken leg.  She told me all she needed was crutches so that her son could go back to school.  The school would not let him back unless he could prove self-reliant mobility. 

    So, as simple as it sounds- I drove out today, across town, to a neighborhood I would not usually frequent and  dropped off a pair of crutches, a wheelchair and some hope to a mother who is simply trying to get to a better situation in life and a boy- who was simply trying to go back to school.

Embraced is the solution.  You can be part of that equation.  Visit us at http://www.embracedatlanta.org/ and figure out how you fit into that equation.