Pixie and her daughter Faun
My name is Pixi Toso and I care for my daughter Fawn, who is 28 years old and has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, autism, and also suffers from lung and walking disorders. Earlier in her life, Fawn lived in an institution where she was treated very poorly – in fact she was neglected.
There were times were she was not fed, she was given wrong medication and overall was treated like an experiment, not as a person. During an outing, she was even lost and I had to get the police involved to find her. As a mother, it broke my heart to see how neglected my daughter was and how I had been fooled in thinking that she would be better off in an institution than in my care.
After several surgeries, and more to come, my daughter needs constant care. She is no longer in an institution, and because she now lives with me, I can care for her in a way that only a mother can care for her child. I make sure that Fawn has her correct medications, she is able to make her doctor appointments on time, and that overall she leads a happy and healthy life at home.
The IHSS program is extremely important to both Fawn and myself. It allows me the opportunity to earn a living while caring for my daughter, it allows my daughter the opportunity to live a healthy life at home, and overall it saves taxpayers thousands of dollars because Fawn is not living in an institution.
I hope that while we are here in our state’s capitol, Governor Jerry Brown understands the importance of home care workers, and the impact any further cuts would have to families just like mine.
