Back in Action: Jaq-cari’s Story
Because of his illness, Jaq-cari consistently missed a lot of school and fell behind. The family’s lack of reliable transportation also caused Jaq-cari to miss multiple medical appointments and he ended up back in the hospital. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) stepped in and referred Jaq-cari to Youth Villages to help address his truancy, missed medical appointments and his additional mental health concerns.
Jaq-cari’s Intercept specialist facilitated communication between Courtney, Jaq-cari’s school team, medical providers and DCF. She helped Courtney figure out which questions to ask Jaq-cari’s medical and mental health providers and even drove them to appointments to ensure they wouldn’t be missed.
Now, the family works with their specialist to check Jaq-cari’s sugar and give him his insulin multiple times per day. They use an app to track his diet and blood sugar and his specialist created a wellness plan to help Courtney and Jaq-cari keep track of his medications and treatments.
In addition to his severe diabetes, Jaq-cari also suffers from hallucinations and thoughts of self-harm. He was diagnosed with PTSD, depression and ADHD. Jaq-cari’s specialist works to help him connect and communicate with his various mental health providers and facilitates communication between Jaq-cari’s school team and his psychiatrist. His specialist also worked directly with his school therapist to address barriers around attending school remotely and worked with Courtney to set up a referral for a long-term individual therapist that Jaq-cari can work with year-round. She also utilizes creative interventions such as art therapy to work with Jaq-cari around his PTSD and depression and helps Courtney with her resume and required housing documentation as she searches for a job and a more suitable living situation for her family.
Now, Jaq-cari’s diabetes is mostly under control and is much more manageable for both Jaq-cari and Courtney. He does a great job of being mindful of what he eats and is working to replace sugary drinks with water. Jaq-cari is enrolled in hip-hop dance classes and is doing much better in school, he is even excelling in math, science and English language arts.