Attorney Holly Caudill, a quadriplegic, can work but can't support herself and a full-time attendant. George S. Mitrovich tells how Caudill went about winning help for herself and others in similar straits.

[Headline] Take on Capitol Hill, then head for the White House
By George S. Mitrovich
Special to Roundtable

Former Spokane attorney Holly Caudill, a quadriplegic since she was 14, the result of a broken neck suffered in an auto accident, flew recently to Washington, D.C.. She was searching for answers to a question that, for her, has life-and-death consequences.

The question is this: Could a Washington seemingly consumed by power politics, partisan divisions and global agendas, find time to consider the plight of one person?

The answer Caudill found constitutes a remarkable story.

The trip to Washington for this Gozaga Law School graduate became the kind of journey many Americans only dream about. The six days she spent in our nation's capital were literally six unbelievable days.

While there, Caudill saw the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the United States. She also met and talked with some of the Senate's most important members: Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, Dianne Feinstein of California, Charles GrassIey and Torn Harkin of Iowa, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and Washington's own Slade Gouda.

Here's what happened.

Caudill, who now works in the U.S. Attorney's office in San Diego, had been invited to a dinner in Washington honoring former White House press secretary Jim Brady and actor Christopher Reeves. She and two new San Diego friends, Peter and Sherri Knobloch, decided that since Caudill was going anyway, she should use the time, if the opportunity arose, to tell her story to members of Congress.

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When he finished his taping, the president asked Caudill about her trip. She explained her goals, told the president about her hopes. Get me legislation, Clinton said, and I'll sign it.

As readers of The Spokesman-Review know from Caudill's experiences in the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Washington, her entire income goes for the staples of life ---- food, clothing, housing, gas, lights, water, etc. What Caudill needs, what others in similar circumstances need, is a change in a federal eligibility guidelines to assure reasonable attendant care funding, while mandating that all states accommodate and fund such services.

This is a critical issue. Individuals like Caudill, who has a job and reports to work every day, despite injuries that would keep most of us confined to a nursing home at great public cost, require changes in federal and stale laws if they are to remain productive members of society.

Prior to Caudill leaving for Washington, Peter Knobloch called and asked if I would be to meet a friend of his. I told Peter my time was limited, but if it were important, I would provide some time.

It was during our visit that l met Caudill for the first time. I listened to her remarkable story--the story of one human's triumph over great personal adversity.

At our meeting, Peter asked if I would help Caudill with some Washington contacts. I said I would do what I could. Although I am a Democrat; I decided the first person I should call would be Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a conservative Republican from San Diego. I told Cunningham Caudill's story. I asked if he would help, and he said be would. I then asked if he would arrange a meeting for Caudill with Speaker Newt Gingrich. He said he would do that as well.

The Knoblochs, deeply committed to Caudill's cause, flew with her to Washington, none of them aware of what was in store.

The first day in Washington, somewhat confused about their schedule, Caudill and the Knoblochs missed their appointment with the speaker. Cunningham had gone out of way to arrange a meeting with one of the busiest men in America, and Caudill and her friends didn't show up.

When I finally reached Peter and told him about the missed meeting, he and Caudill were disappointed. But he then told me this amazing story. Not knowing of the meeting with Gingrich, Caudill, Peter and Sherri had gone to the Capitol to see Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Getting around Washington puzzles many people, but try to imagine what it must be like if you're a quadriplegic and dependent upon public transportation. Caudill arrived late.

She and the Knoblochs were instructed to meet Hatch in the judiciary hearing room. During a break, the senator invited them into a small sitting room. As senators wandered in and out, Caudill told Hatch her story. He
asked her and her friends to meet him in his office at the end of the committee's meeting.

For over an hour, Hatch, Caudill and the Knoblochs talked. As they were getting ready to leave, Hatch decided to call a key Clinton aide, to tell about this amazing person he had just met. The aide said Caudill should come and visit the president. Caudill and the Knoblochs set off on their cross-town trip to the White House.

On arriving at the White House, they were ushered into the Roosevelt Room. The president was about to tape his weekly radio broadcast (It was the day that he and Mrs. Clinton took their daughter, Chelsea, to Stanford University). When he finished his taping. the president asked Caudill about her trip. She explained her goals, told the president about her hopes.

Get me legislation, Clinton said, and I'll sign it.

As they said goodbye, Caudill handed a bouquet of flowers to the president, telling him, 'These are for Chelsea." He was obviously moved.

A few days later, accompanied by Cunningham, Caudill finally saw Gingrich. Like Hatch, like all the senators she had seen and like the president, the speaker was deeply - impressed by Caudill.

Will she get her legislation? Yes, she will. Ultimately, you cannot say no to Caudill.

She's an extraordinary person who proves daily that while you may bind the body, the human spirit cannot be chained.

George Mitrovich is a civic leader and president of The City Club of San Diego. He has written articles for The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe (New York) Newsday and The Denver Post

Created on

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Posted on

Thursday 21 November 2019

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