Barrett, a boy after my heart

I received the following this morning from a friend. I appeal to all people who love dogs, children, have a compassionate heart and maybe a little money, to help.  I have edited this piece just slightly for space.

My name is Tammy Ruck and I am a Nursing Major at Cumberland University. I am reaching out to my fellow students and staff at Cumberland to share my son's story. I have 3 children, but my middle son, Barrett, has some special needs. He is Autistic, has seizures, is a heart patient, has asthma, ADHD and OCD. He is really bright but he has many development delays, physically, emotionally and socially. My husband and I have decided to get Barrett a service dog. A service dog is not covered by medical insurance and costs $20,000 to train over the course of 2 years. The company we have chosen fund raises to cover half of that cost and the family has to fund raise to cover the other half. The family also has to cover their own expenses to get to the training and cover other expenses related to owning a service dog (special ID for dog and handler, vest, leashes, harness, dog crate and veterinary expenses).  We have estimated we will need $12,000 total.

We decided to create a web page telling Barrett's story and asking for help in reaching our goal.  I would appreciate if everyone would just take a moment to read Barrett's story. You won't regret it. He is so inspiring.  I know, in tough times, many people will not be able to donate (especially us students), but if you could share Barrett's story with all your contacts by forwarding along his web address, that would be so helpful.  Barrett's web page has only been operational now for 7 days and just through word of mouth, email and facebook, he has raised over $5000.00. Now we can turn in his application and they can select a service dog who has completed his basic training and begin training him specifically for Barrett's needs.  We have a relatively small window of time to raise the rest of the funds in order for Barrett to get his dog. A service dog will be life-saving and life changing for Barrett. Barrett's story has also caught the attention of Nashville News Channel 5 and they will be at our house Thursday to film a segment about him and his efforts to get his service dog. Be watching for the news clip to get an inside view into Barrett's incredible life.

Thank you for hearing Barrett's story, taking him into your heart, sharing his story with others and helping us reach this goal. With your help, Barrett can learn to be independent and be safe. My family thanks you all so much...from the bottom of Barrett's special little heart. If we go over our goal, our family has decided to get a hold of the company we have chosen and find the closest family to us that is also currently fund raising for an Autism Service Dog and let Barrett surprise them with a check. Please take this journey with our family by following Barrett's progress on his web site. You can feel good knowing that you mattered in the life of a small child and made his life better. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Tammy Ruck.

you, too, can have a role in the military industrial complex (should that be hyphenated?)

As a military dependent (spouse is retired Army) I have a military ID. Like a driver's license, it has a limited life span and requires renewal. My time had come. Yesterday we headed up to Fort Campbell, home of the 101st former-Airborne-now-Air-Assault to take care of updating my ID.

There's lots going on at Fort Campbell. Buildings are coming down, offices and departments are being moved here and there, and there's evidence to suggest that they're on the eve of new construction. Fort Campbell is now home to a Special Forces unit, growing even as we speak, which explains some of the activity.

The ID renewal office had moved, and after checking in and collecting my "take a number" number, I had barely taken my place in a chair when my number was, in fact, called. I liked this place already. I have a heart for efficiency and short waits.

The electronic sign on the wall told my number to report to station 8, and I went in search of it. The chair behind the desk was empty, but we sat down dutifully. While we waited we noted that the date on the wall calendar was highlighted in neon green, with the note "last day" written with emphasis. In short order, the woman at station 8 returned to her desk with apologies for making us wait.

While Jennifer took care of the necessities of updating my ID card we chatted. Last day? Yes, she said. Her husband was deploying soon, and she would be staying home with her kids. Her two sons have autism, and there was no provision for them to attend local child-care and school. (I confess I have forgotten some specifics of what she told us--was it day care? school? The boys have IEP's, so I'm thinking school). This got my newly discovered Irish up. Ken's, too. We asked more questions.

It turns out that forty-percent of the kids on base at Ft. Campbell have autism. FORTY PERCENT. And there is no provision for them to attend school. We were utterly dumbfounded. Jennifer has written her congressional representative, written the Pentagon, written to Obama, with perfunctory replies. We brainstormed with her about who else she could write, what else she could do, and then it struck me. The families of individuals with autism should not be the only advocates in this fight. This is, of course, stating the obvious. I guess it was the fact that our government, vis a vis the military, was ignoring the plight of a significant portion of its citizens that put me in gear. I'm attributing my response to being hit by the drop that makes the cup overflow. As of yesterday autism awareness and a role in raising it joins my list of causes.

Support our troops? You bet. At home and abroad. And that means their families, left behind as single-parent households with the added burden of daily prayers and concerns for their loved ones in harm's way. And for this pacifist, it's the perfect way to live one set of values while not compromising another. In fact, it's the perfect way to do my part, to support the men in women who make a different choice than I could ever make, and show my love and yes, patriotism.

Will you join me? I will try to learn more about the specifics at Fort Campbell, and see what I can learn, as well, about provisions elsewhere affecting military families, as well as others. My dear friend Jayne has a son with autism. Ken's cousin, Teresa, has three children with autism. And there are so many others. We are all touched by the reality of this difference in the lives of people we care about. It's time to show the love and share the fight.