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Family's journey with rare disease highlights challenges in finding vaccinated childcare

Jessica Solis' daughter has Down syndrome and moyamoya disease
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Posted at 9:42 PM, Mar 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-20 00:29:05-04

DENVER — The daughter of a Highlands Ranch family has beat the odds. Now, there's more to be learned from the 7-year-old's life.

"Having that experience of your child potentially dying, or having this major experience, you know, I think today with COVID, it makes me even more aware of how fragile her life is," Jessica Solis said.

Solis' daughter, Lola, has Down syndrome and a rare condition called moyamoya, a rare condition that narrows blood vessels in the brain reducing blood supply.

"She actually wasn’t diagnosed until about a year after her stroke. She had a stroke when she was three," Solis said.

For the past year, Solis and her husband have been working diligently to protect Lola and her two siblings from COVID-19.

"Just with those two conditions, it puts her in a high-risk category. We pretty much live within the four walls of our house. People think we’re extreme, but we have to be — my daughter has an extreme case. We do grocery delivery or grocery pickup," Solis said.

Now, Solis and her husband are looking to find a vaccinated babysitter.

"The isolation as well has been difficult, so it’s been a long 12 months. To be able to find someone that’s vaccinated that might be able to help us out a little bit is a huge need as well as a huge relief off of us," Solis said.

The Solis' situation highlights one unique circumstance in finding childcare during the ongoing pandemic. Denver7 found no databases of vaccinated sitters or nannies, and there are no websites advertising those specific qualifiers. In terms of daycare, the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) provided the statement below:

A child care provider's vaccination status is protected health information, thus we are not collecting that information and we don't have the authorization to share that information. Child care providers may disclose vaccination status themselves, to families searching for care from vaccinated providers.

Solis said she hopes her family's situation can help pave way for innovation and solutions.

"We do anything we have to do to protect her," Solis said.

CDHS offers personalized support that may be suitable for some childcare needs.