BECKY CASH
By Maria Smietana
L a u n ch es C a m p a i g n fo r Sta te Re p rese n ta t i ve
Becky Cash
Becky Cash is a board-certified holistic practitioner and owner of Indy Natural Health Center in Indianapolis. She is also the author of Healing Autism Naturally. She and her husband Chris are the parents of six children, four of whom have medical conditions, including autism, autoimmune disorders, chronic Lyme disease, juvenile diabetes, mitochondrial disease, and progressive paralysis. The Cash family was featured in the first issue of Special Needs Living.
SNL: What motivated you to run for public office? Cash: To be honest, the idea of running for office was not a completely far-fetched idea for me given the cloth that I was cut from, so to speak. I come from a family that did not hold back in political discussions. It was a regular topic at the dinner table, as well as with extended family on holidays. There was always a mixture of political beliefs, and while I distinctly recall who had differences of opinion, I don’t remember it becoming a point of contention [between them]. What a different age that was, though it was not that long ago! That said, I did not think that I would be running at this time, and I did not think that I would be starting with the state legislature. However, a friend put a bug in my ear back in February, noting that someone needed to run in my district to fight for medical freedom. I laughed and said, “I will help you find somebody.” SNL: What other experiences in your life led up to your decision to run for office? Cash: As the months went on – after research was literally dropped in my lap, after discussion with my husband, and, quite honestly, what I believe to be a prompting from God – I realized that I was, in fact, being called to take up this campaign. I have never been one to shy away from a challenge, so this didn’t seem like the time to start doing so. My conviction to run for office was further confirmed when we saw that in many ways, our legislators failed the families of Indiana when they did not pass medical freedom legislation in this past session. Two years ago, I am positive I would not have said yes. At that point in time, my husband and I were barely keeping our heads above water. We’ve reflected a lot on this recently and we can honestly say that we spent about 15 years drowning. At times we didn’t know what the next hour or minute would bring, let alone the next day. We often laugh that when things get calm, we should probably worry and wonder what God is planning. I am so grateful to no longer wake up every morning and go to bed every night not knowing if one of my children would be in crisis or have to go to the hospital or heaven forbid, stop breathing. I am so grateful to finally be at a point where the road ahead is clear and to let my family be a part of executing change in the State of Indiana.
18 Special Needs Living • November 2021
SNL: What changes would you like to see made? Cash: I think the biggest change that is needed is one that is not politically correct to talk about – we need our legislators to be stronger and stop walking the middle ground. They can’t continue to campaign on tough issues, and then, once in office, pacify the voters by pretending to vote for real change while mostly voting with the majority on politically “safe” bills. We watched heads of committees hold bills hostage during the last legislative session rather than allow committee votes. But I believe popcorn was voted in as our state snack (laughs). I am running to protect and build Indiana families. We have so many entities that aren’t just consciously tearing our families down but doing it through lack of action. For example, I think that most special needs families would agree that we are financially beaten down in an effort to take care of our families. I am grateful that Governor Mike Pence signed legislation years ago that would give support to every family in Indiana with a special needs child. This family service waiver is an amazing piece of legislation that does not exist in many states. But in practicality families like mine and those in this magazine are going into bankruptcy to get our children back to health and normalcy. Many children are born with special needs but [in my opinion] one of the biggest causes of medical need in this country and in this state is
