“Is it better to stay at home, or is it better to put us in a homeless shelter where it is more risky?” Garcia said about her 3-year-old brandy.
Fear is nothing new for the young couple, as Brandi has an extremely rare metabolic disorder that requires round-the-clock care and is susceptible to any type of virus.
It’s already a walking miracle. Most children with this condition do not live to one year of age.
But epidemics have made it difficult to keep him alive. Garcia and Lusk quit their jobs in April to take care of their children and stay home to reduce the chances of the coronavirus entering their home.
They are now due to pay off thousands of dollars in debt at the end of the month.
Brandi’s parents are like many others who are members of a vulnerable family who have made enormous sacrifices for their safety over the months and months – and are watching many more weeks as the Covid-19 spreads.
But it’s hard to explain to Brandi’s brother and sister that they can’t go to school safely or even be around other kids. Young friends hang on to the patio railings of their apartment apartments and, Isabella of the year and Elijah of the year call Elijah to come to the next playground. It is very dangerous to say yes.
29, Garcia said, “We try to explain it to them.” They’re like, ‘Oh, I was good today. I did nothing wrong. ‘ It’s like this, I know you did nothing wrong. It’s just … you can’t go out. “
Brandy is deficient in carnitine-acetylcarnitine translocase (CACT), a serious condition where her body cannot use certain types of fats as a source of fat. She must be fed every few hours through a tube in her stomach and she is on a long list of expensive drugs.
Her body has almost no reserves to fight the virus.
“Any serious illness can be fatal for her,” said Dr. Louis Uma, a pediatric genetic and metabolic specialist at Children’s Health in Uneas and an assistant professor at UT Southwestern.
“Covid is so contagious and extensive, it’s at the top of our list of things that it can be easily compressed,” said Uma Brand, a brand doctor. “For others, I mean she’s got vaccines right now. We don’t have a coronavirus vaccine yet – at least available.”
Uma said that less than 1 in 250,000 babies are born with a deficiency of CACAT and that even during normal periods it requires “overwhelming effort” to treat it. “It really never comes out of the woods,” he said. “Something could go wrong at any time in her life, and it could be for her.”
Umaisa observes that families like Brandy found themselves in a “no-win situation” during the epidemic. “They have to take risks (to work), or can’t afford their basic needs.”
Christmas days … and evacuation
Garcia quit his factory job in April and Lusk quit his home health job at the same time. The family receives 5,305 in food stamps in addition to 4,414 per month in unemployment benefits. Medicaid, mostly for brandy medicine and therapy, as well as home-based nursing care helps pay for up to 16 hours a day.
The family says they are nine months behind on rent and on utilities. 2,000 is behind. The only reason their lights are still on is because Brandi has a medical condition that needs electricity to power her feeding pump. “I’ve sold all the money in my house to try to make money, to pay a bill, to pay a partial bill, to do whatever we can.”
The young couple is clearly distressed when they mention asking their children about Christmas. But they only focus on different days in December – the last day, when they say they are worried about losing their home.
“We don’t even think about Christmas gifts,” Garcia said. “We’re thinking about a place to stay.”
Lusk added, “In fact, they won’t take Christmas.” “They have nothing.”
Dallas County, like other major Texas cities, has seen a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in the past month. The couple said they are looking for work they can do from home, but without taking formal education, they have come soon.
With any family unable to support him financially or physically, Garcia and Lusk’s most feared threat is being evacuated, relocated to a homeless shelter, and Brandi sent back to the hospital where she can be treated. When Brandi was first born, her parents stayed with her in the hospital for two months and could barely see their other two children.
“The last thing I want is to go back to doing it,” Garcia said.
“Or not being able to see him and then he’s in the casket,” his mother added.
The couple said they only try to take one day at a time and pray that the virus will “go away.”
“The only hope we’ve got is the fact that we still have him. He’s still here,” Garcia said. “We’re still with him, now.”
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