A growing light...

...and it's not an oncoming train!

We found out about a program yesterday that might just be the answer we've been looking for to help manage our medical financial budget. It's the Medicaid Buy-In program and, fingers crossed, we can use it effectively to keep our budget in the black in 2009!

The Medicaid Buy-In program allows people of any age who have a disability and are working to receive Medicaid by paying a monthly premium. The monthly premium is based on earned and unearned income. One of the most important aspects for us is that each client is considered a "household of one" which means that a spouse is not penalized for assets owned by the other spouse. This also applies to income as well, so I can earn all the money I want and Keith will not lose his benefits! This is incredible news and we will be getting more details next week. This will call for a whole new level of paperwork, but it's worth it for financial sustainablity.

Let's get Keith on the The Ellen Show!

As you know, Keith Hogan is my husband and he is 43 years old. He was born with a genetic disease known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2 and has severe scoliosis and respiratory problems. He has lived with these conditions his entire life and has never been able to walk. Over time, he lost the ability to use his arms.

Keith was raised in a politically and socially conservative family who told him he could do or accomplish anything. So, he did. In 1989, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in Finance. He went on to a successful career in banking and real estate.

He spent 3-1/2 months in the hospital in 2008 where he was put on a ventilator. He is now at home working to get off the ventilator and get back to work. After his experiences with the healthcare system this year (both at the hospital and at home), he has become committed to sharing his story with the world. Between us, we have a huge network of great people. Being able to share Keith's story on The Ellen Show would bring his story to the world.

We believe that Keith would be a remarkable guest on The Ellen Show because:

• Keith is amazing, courageous and inspiring to everyone who meets him
• More people need to meet Keith and hear his story
• With the distress in the world today, people need to be reminded that we can all have the life we choose, no matter what the circumstances

Please join our Facebook group and let's get Keith on The Ellen Show!

Keith Hogan...Longhorn Living Star!

Keith's good friend Elena Watts arranged for this interview with 'Longhorn Living', which is a weekly section of the University of Texas student newspaper The Daily Texan. In it, Keith was given the opportunity to share his story of the ups and downs on the road to recovery. It was also the public debut of our extremely cute puppy, Henry Hopper Hogan who, like Keith, was born to be a star!