9th Birthday- "Rebecca's Law" needs your support

Rebecca's Cousins

This week we celebrated Rebecca's 9th Birthday.  She is a fighter.  "Rebecca's Law" was written in her honor and to deter this tragedy from happening to more families.  Make a call or send an email to the members of the Senate Finance Committee and ask them to help reduce avoidable child brain injuries by supporting SB 78 "Rebecca's Law." 

Reach out to them here:  http://senate.la.gov/Finance/Assignments.asp

Rebecca sitting
at my Senate Seat

Susan and I testified before the state senate about child brain injuries a week before her birthday.  Watch the video and share it with others so that her story can help other children.  

http://senate.la.gov/video/videoarchive.asp?v=senate/2016/04/041916JUDA_0

"Rebecca's Law"

Katherine leaving Polaroid's for the
kids in Haiti 

In the 1970's the legislature agreed that a brain is worth $500,000.00. 

Katherine and Beth with
new friends from Haiti

SB 78 has started a discussion on our 40 year old medical malpractice cap of $500,000.00 for catastrophically brain injured children who suffered an avoidable brain injury. A cap means that it is the most that can be awarded by a judge or a jury for the harm the child suffers.  Simply put a child's brain is worth more than that. Rebecca's law allows a family who falls victim to an avoidable catastrophic brain injury the right to collect up to $5 million dollars only if a panel of three doctors agrees unanimously or a jury finds unanimously that the brain injury is catastrophic and caused by the error of the Doctor. A unanimous panel is rare because the doctor is allowed to pick one on the three members of the panel. 

Friends Wedding

A catastrophic brain injury means a brain injury that is moderate to severe that includes and causes the partial use of one limb, paraplegia, or quadriplegia. 

Most do not realize the $500,000 cap is universal to all citizens. This bill only allows children with catastrophic brain injuries to have a higher cap. Many families with catastrophically injured children must file bankruptcy after they "win" their case.  Although the law provides for unlimited medical expenses, it does not make up for the harms and losses a family suffers when a brain is ruined by an avoidable mistake.   
 

While this bill will not help Rebecca- it will increase safety in hospitals. Although she will never have a voice on earth- she is a voice for other children like her -many of whom have not been born yet.

Contact members of Senate Finance and ask them to help prevent avoidable child brain injuries. Ask them to pass this law to put patient safety above profits when it comes to babies who suffer avoidable catastrophic brain injuries.

 

Reach out to them here:  http://senate.la.gov/Finance/Assignments.asp

Family Update: 


Uncle Robbie, Katherine, Becca
and Hayden

The last few years have been great.  Katherine is a sophomore at Airline has maintained straight A’s thus far in High School while taking AP and honors classes.  She is also enrolled in college classes and has made all A’s so far.  She has traveled to Haiti, El Salvador and Mexico on mission trips.  She will serve a Student Body Vice President next year at Airline.  She and I went to Haiti in Nov. 2014 and then convinced Susan and Beth to join us in Nov. 2015.  She loves playing the piano and planning mission trips. 

In 2014, Katherine asked me to go with her to El Salvador on a mission trip.  While there she let me know that God was calling her to do mission work and that she wanted to go on another trip to Haiti.  I told her I would go with her.  She signed us up and in November 2014 we went with a great group from all over the country to Oban, Haiti.  We had a great mission trip and Katherine and I decided we would go back each year with a group from our church.  I went to training in Atlanta with 410 Bridge where they assigned me to be leader for an area called Bossier (Bossy -Ay), Haiti!  How awesome is God that he would pair us with a city with the same name as our home town.  We went back in November 2015 with Susan and Elizabeth and a few members of the church.  Also, it worked out that the trip was scheduled before we decided to run for office and, no coincidence here, the runoff was on a day that we were in Haiti!  So we went to Haiti and missed Election Day. 

Kauai with four adults and
six girls under 15. 

I want to do the rest of my mission work in Kauai, Hawaii- fun bucket-list trip with family and friends. 

Beth was a natural in Haiti and all the kids flocked to her.  The language barrier did not bother her a bit.  All the kids loved her.  She enjoyed going to Juarez with Samaritans’ Purse to hand out Christmas Shoe Boxes in January.  She is making straight A’s and enjoys dance, cheer and basketball.  She also helps teach second graders at church.  Beth is an excellent painter and loves the piano.  She is throwing the discus in track and keeping us busy! 

 Charlotte loves Kindergarten and had made many friends.  She is learning all about the Bible and loves to give “eye exams” to share the gospel.  She has taken up fishing and caught 19 in one outing.


Charlotte on Campaign



Charlotte giving "eye exams"

Rebecca is such a fighter and great example for our kids.  She has outlived many everyone's expectations and reminds us daily of God's grace.  Her ninth birthday was a blast with all the cousins.  Her seizures are getting pretty severe and the medicine change recently did not change the frequency or duration, but we have hope that she will respond. 


Hope you'll review the blog, read it, share it and keep us in your prayers!

Haiti 2015