This petition is on behalf of a young resident of Limoges, Ricky King who was seriously injured in a car accident almost four years ago. After an initial period of three months of hospitalization in an unconscious state, Ricky was brought home by his parents, and he is still in a coma with his parents providing for almost all of his daily care. Ricky is thus able to live in a more loving and stimulating environment than any hospital or institution can provide. Nadira and Roger King have been providing Ricky’s round- the clock-care with minimal help from the CCAC. Understandably, this is a huge undertaking with both parents working at part-time jobs in order to avail themselves to provide proper care, with Roger getting up several times a night to turn Ricky as he must be turned every three to four hours. They have been asking for some additional respite care from the CCAC so they can continue caring for him in his family home, while helping to maintain their own health. Ricky suffers seizures, requires many medications and tube feeding and has uncontrollable spasms - all requiring constant care from a family member, or from qualified professional help. Without going into detail, the family’s request of the CCAC would provide the best possible use its resources, and it would benefit the family greatly. A stream of nursing assistants or non-trained aides is not of sufficient help to Ricky or the family. They have requested the services of a qualified nurse one night a week (to give Roger a well needed rest), one evening every second week to allow them to go out for an evening together, and also respite one afternoon a week to allow them to do errands, etc. To those of us who are signing this petition, we feel that the request is at minimal cost compared with full-time institutional care, and we cannot understand why this request has not been filled earlier. If Nadira and Roger had not taken on this huge undertaking the Ministry would be spending thousands of extra dollars caring for Ricky in institutional care. The Ontario government advertises the need to try and keep people out of hospitals by assisting in home care and thus allowing patients to stay in their own homes. In Ricky’s case the help that is needed to allow his parents to continue caring for their son in his home is a fraction of the cost of institutional care to the government, but the proper help is just not forthcoming. As friends and neighbours of Roger and Nadira, we see the toll that the work of this magnitude is taking on them, and we pray that Ricky one day will awake from this long nightmare. The CCAC has an obligation to help the family in achieving this goal.