Support Colbie Cate's Guardianship Journey

"Her eyes have their own vocabulary. What a beautiful language to learn."

Meet my niece, Colbie Cate! While Colbie is nonverbal she makes quite the impact on those she meets. To know her is to love her and to love to laugh. Diagnosed with Rett Syndrome (https://www.rettsyndrome.org/) at the age of four, Colbie's mobility has declined and she relies heavily on others for daily activities and care. While Colbie will never be able to experience the joys of independent living like feeding yourself, working a job you enjoy, going on a date, or fixing her own hair and make-up, her family works hard to afford her all of the experiences to make her life as "normal" and exciting as possible.

While most students are spending the summer before their senior year dreaming about colleges or life after high school, and their families are trying to figure out how to transition their child into adulthood, Colbie and her family are planning how to navigate guardianship and the power to be her voice. My mom always told us when we were growing up that 18 is not a magic number, but for all things legal and medical, Texas says otherwise. Since Colbie will never be able to hold a pencil or speak for herself among many things, Texas law says there must be a legal form of guardianship in place to help make the decisions necessary for her.

Here is where I am asking for your help. With needs like Colbie's, day to day living is already quite costly and now my sister and her family are having to pay for attorneys and court fees to legaly ensure Colbie Cate's care goes uninterrupted when she turns 18. Without guardianship her parents lose the ability to seek care and make medical decisions as well as lose access to her records and files, thus leaving the responsibility for communication with Colbie who is unable to voice her needs. Colbie will turn 18 in January so I am hoping this fundraiser is able to help my sister and her family get a decent start on the path towards guardianship.

If you've made it this far, thank you! Thank you for anything you are able to contribute to help our girl, Colbie Cate! Anything raised beyond what is needed for guardianship will be used towards medical expenses. We appreciate your support, thoughts, prayers and words of kindness.

"You are our hearts, we are your voice."