Fictional Friday: Destiny

I often write about families and individuals with disabilities on wait lists for services, often struggling with the challenges of an inadequate and outdated system that leaves them without the services of which they so desperately need.

But today, I'd like to tell you about a success story. Let me tell you about Destiny, a young lady who is on the Developmental Disability Medicaid Waiver. Destiny is 29 years old, vivacious, with round, soft-brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair and a contagious smile.

Destiny lives in public housing, with another young lady who is also on the Waiver. Destiny works a local fast food establishment, loves to attend concerts, Special Olympic events, and is a regular at her church. Destiny and her house-mate have 24 hour supports. Like many folks who share a home, they have the occasional moments in which they don't see eye to eye. But for the most part they get along extremely well, and consider themselves close friends.

Destiny regularly exercises at a local health club for women, and has lost some considerable weight. She is known by her neighbors and numerous people in her community (read: non-paid) who enjoy her lively and bubbly personality. Her staff are also fond and protective of her.

Are things perfect? No. But Destiny has a life in which she gets to make choices about her life. She is active in her community. She has people in her life, staff and non-staff, who genuinely care about and for her. Destiny has a life of quality, a life of real choices, and a life of meaning.

Doesn't everyone deserve a chance at that?

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Note:   Destiny is a fictional character, based on a composite of real individuals. Composite characters who appear in my "Fictional Friday" posts are based on people with real stories, with particular details, names, and certain specific circumstances changed so as to protect privacy.