Ten months ago, Elijah was in the hospital on hospice care, waiting for the right foster family to bring him home and give him some comfort in his last days. Then he met Becca, and everything changed. Less than a year later, Elijah is off hospice care and living life to the fullest at his forever home.
Becca was an Aveanna clinical supervisor when Elijah came into her life. His foster care team asked her to become his mom and nurse. “I don’t know what it was,” Becca remembers, “but something told me we needed to do it. The first time we met, Elijah held my hand so tight. My husband and I quickly made the decision to welcome him into our family and do everything we could to make him comfortable.”
In the beginning, the plan was to support Elijah at the end of his life. Becca never expected the miracle that happened. Thanks to her consistent, expert care and advocacy, Elijah transformed. Becca poured into him, helping him find joy, adventure, and stability. Soon enough, he transitioned off hospice care, started therapies, and began to thrive.
“Elijah is out of bed every day now, and it has made a huge difference,” Becca shares. “We take him on adventures to do things he’s never done before, like hiking and bowling. Any glimpse of independence and childhood that he can have, I want to give him. Anything to give him a normal childhood. He has a new lease on life. He knows it’s worth it to get out of bed because he’s doing all these fun new things. It fills his soul, and he fills mine.”
Elijah has changed Becca’s life just as much as she’s changed his. As Elijah’s mom, Becca feels she has found her life’s purpose in a way she never had before. “When people used to ask me why I became a nurse, I would say because of the way nurses took care of my grandmother,” Becca recalls. “That was true, but I always felt that there was more to it. Now I see – God put it on my heart to be a nurse so that I could be here for Elijah when he needed me. Elijah is the best. He has changed my life for good.”
Thanks to Colorado’s family caregiver programs, Becca is able to care for Elijah as both his mom and his nurse. “Colorado’s unique programs give families like ours an incredible opportunity,” she says. “I wish more families knew this was an option with Aveanna in Colorado. This is the best homecare company I’ve worked with as a nurse. And Colorado’s family caregiver programs can make such a difference!”
Since Elijah came home from the hospital, two night nurses have joined Becca to make up his Aveanna nursing team. They allow Becca the rest she needs and help Elijah continue to thrive. With their consistent care, he is progressing by leaps and bounds every day.
“Elijah is sitting independently for short periods and holding his head up,” Becca shares. “He is in therapy, tasting new foods, and about to start a hybrid homeschool program in the fall. He’s learning to manipulate a power wheelchair, use an eye gaze device, and use a switch device. He even has glasses now and is literally seeing a whole new world.”
Elijah is seeing a new world and a new future, so different from the one that was before him a year ago. Whatever his future holds, one thing is certain: Becca will be by his side every step of the way. “Whether he’s with us for 30 more years or 30 more days, every moment is worth it,” Becca says. “Elijah is a miracle.”
Interested in Colorado’s family caregiver programs? Learn more today!