(MOBILE, Ala.) December 12 - Here's an update to a story NBC 15 exclusively followed several years ago - "Nick's Crusade." It was about a young man from Mobile who took on state government to save his life and the lives of others. Nick was recently honored with a big award he very much deserves.
Requiring 24-hour-care, Nick Dupree needs a ventilator to take every breath. Yet his zest for life takes your breath away. At the age of 24, he's already been honored with a Lifetime Advocacy Award.
The Alabama Disability Advocacy Program (ADAP) presented the award in Montgomery. "I am very honored and I'm glad that people remember and I hope they'll continue to remember these issues." Nick said after he received his award.
Nick is one of only four people to have received such an award in ADAP's 30-year existence. Ellen Gillespie is ADAP's Executive Director, "I think it says to us that he has accomplished more in his young years than many of us would hope to accomplish in a lifetime."
NBC 15 first introduced you to Nick in the summer of 2001 when at the age of 18, this quadriplegic with a rare form of muscular dystrophy began an on-line crusade from his bedroom to change a state medicaid law that would have otherwise terminated his home nursing care on his 21st birthday.
James Tucker is ADAP's lead attorney, "He (Nick) has had an extraordinary impact not just in Alabama but throughout the country. He testified in front of Congress. People throughout the 50 states and around the world were part of his campaign. They knew about Nick's crusade."
According to Medicaid's old policy, after a patient like Nick turned 21-years-old, the state agency would only pay for care in an out-of-state nursing home, because Alabama doesn't have the necessary facilities to care for someone in Nick's condition.
After years of uncertainty, a lawsuit was filed in federal court on Nick's behalf, months before Nick turned 21. In a case of David versus Goliath, Nick left the courthouse victorious just days before his 21st birthday.
"Literally dozens of people in Alabama have benefited as well. So it's an important story at every level." said ADAP's James Tucker.
Nick added, "I feel called to help people. To help to stop the suffering. That's always been in me."
And it still is. In fact, Nick's next crusade will most likely bring him right back to the steps of the State Capitol in Montgomery. If successful, it could potentially improve the lives for everyone living in Alabama with a disability. He said he is focusing on a multi-million dollar federal grant that is available to all states, but so far, Alabama has chosen not to apply for it.
