Crystal De Witt coos her son to sleep. She sings “O Holy Night,” a Christmas tune, though it’s a sweltering almost-summer day. She hugs Jace, aged 3, so tightly to her chest that her arms become a swaddle. Jace, still dressed in the crisp linen shorts he wore to Sunday morning services, fights sleep. But he’s down for a nap in less than five minutes, tired after an afternoon talent show with some dancing, a few tries at the splits and plinking on his mom’s piano. His fascination with music and dance surprised Crystal, because Jace is hearing impaired – one of many health challenges he’s faced since birth. He also has a cleft palate, a recessed chin, and a too-short esophagus that needed surgery when he was three days old. Possibly his problems are all part of a related syndrome, but doctors still can’t say for sure. “Right now, he’s our mystery baby,” Crystal says. She’s not looking for answers about what caused his problems. “Sometimes, things just happen.” Instead, most of her energy is spent getting Jace the ongoing medical attention he needs while keeping up with her fulltime work running an in-home daycare. His list of doctors is as long as his list of health problems and includes a gastroenterologist, audiologist, plastic surgeon, orthopedic surgeon and more, all specialists in pediatric care. Meeting these needs can become a fulltime job for any parent. But the task is even harder for people who live in the rural areas of California. Crystal and Jace live in a small town outside of Marysville, in Yuba County, at the far north tip of the Central Valley. Despite the suburban feel of Crystal’s neighborhood, with its neatly spaced ranch-style house and square patches of lawn, Yuba County is distinctly rural, relatively poor, and home to few services. Residents can satisfy everyday needs by crossing the river into Yuba City, in Sutter County, where there’s a mall, dentists, and familiar restaurants. But there is no medical center with pediatric specialists. Finding that level of training usually requires a trip to Sacramento or beyond. Some parents must travel as far as Palo Alto for care for their children. Getting Jace to the doctor means an hour-long drive each way, a trip parents say can be a nightmare with a special needs child in the car. “It was horrible,” Crystal says of the early back and forth. Help recently came in the form of a portable DVD player, purchased in the early hours of a Black Friday sale last year. But challenges remain. Jace’s father usually drives him to Sacramento after working a 24-hour shift as a paramedic. His grandmother helps too. This story by Heather Gilligan and Callie Shanafelt originally published on: http://www.healthycal.org/archives/8804