Jackson's Story

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Amy: I'm Amy Wicks. I'm from Beckley, West Virginia. And my little boy is Jackson, and he's four years old. And we found out at the 20-week ultrasound that he had the most severe form of spina bifida. We were given some options for care and we had an in utero repair. And so some of the things that were related to his diagnosis were corrected. But then there's things that surgery doesn't correct and will be lifelong for him.

Roxanne: WVABLE is a savings and investment account program that's specifically designed for individuals with a disability. it allows them to save and invest without it impacting their eligibility for public benefit programs such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid.

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Amy: It's a way to save and for Jackson, you know, we've been saving for a few years now, but it's available to us to do things for his medical care, for equipment he might need, education and training. And that's what we hope we get to use that for. We hope we don't have to use it for that other stuff. But if we do, that's okay too.

Roxanne: So with WVABLE it allows them to save and invest, the monies can come from any source a family, a friend, a business, an organization, a special needs or a pool trust, for example. Monies can also be rolled over from a 529 college savings plan into the individual's WVABLE account.

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Amy: He's never let his differences stop him. He's a real life superhero, in my opinion, he has endured more than most adults. He's tough and he he's had to conquer a lot. And it's quite a feat for such a small person.

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