paid since december 31st. my next paycheck is on the 28th, and i guarantee i m not going to be getting it. reporter: that may be true, and if that continues, allie and chris know they need a plan b to keep harper healthy and safe. to try and bring in some extra money, allie and chris have actually sold off some of their personal belongings. they sold some baby toys, some furniture, and even part of their baseball card collection. what they really need is gas money. that s because harper has so many doctors appointments, and some of them, anderson, are 30 and 40 miles away, and that fuel really does add up. but on top of worrying about gas money and harper, they re also worried about getting evicted because they may not have the rent money. chris can t believe it. he does have a job. he is a federal worker, but because he isn t bringing home a paycheck, they could lose their apartment and become homeless. i m glad you told their story. thank you. i want to check in with chris an
personal belongings. they sold some baby toys, some furniture, and even part of their baseball card collection. what they really need is gas money. that s because harper has so many doctors appointments, and some of them, anderson, are 30 and 40 miles but on top of worrying about gas money and harper, they re also worried about getting evicted because they may not have the rent money. chris can t believe it. he does have a job. he is a federal worker, but because he isn t bringing home a paycheck, they could lose their apartment and become homeless. i m glad you told their story. thank you. i want to check in with chris and see what he was working on at the top of the hour. you see a story like that and then you hear what the commerce secretary said, they should just get loans, it s unbelievable how disconnected. they just don t get, so the pain is real, we know that.
today without evidence that many of the federal workers who will miss another paycheck tomorrow are, quote, totally in favor of what he s doing. in fact, a recent cbs news poll found that most americans, 71%, think a wall is not worth this government shutdown. and when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who are affected, well, the stories of hardship just keep on coming. for some families, it s potentially a matter of life and death, including a couple that randi kaye spoke with in kentucky. here is randi s report. reporter: this is 15-month-old harper. she was born prematurely and needs a breathing tube. harper was in a kentucky hospital for more than 300 days and just came home in august. her mom, allie mckinney quit her job as a social worker to care for her daughter. we have to make sure there are eyes on her 24/7, because if she were to take her breathing tube out, she has no way to breathe. so she would instantly turn blue and she could potentially die.
death, including a couple that randi kaye spoke with in kentucky. here is randi s report. reporter: this is 15-month-old harper. she was born prematurely and needs a breathing tube. harper was in a kentucky hospital for more than 300 days and just came home in august. her mom, allie mckinny quit her job as a social worker to care for her daughter. we have to make sure there are eyes on her 24/7, because if she were to take her breathing tube out, she has no way to breathe. so she would instantly turn blue and she could potentially die. reporter: they thought they could rely on her dad chris r p rathcford s salary. then came the shutdown. now chris is working without pay. what does it feel like for you to go to work and not get a paycheck? it stinks. reporter: it stinks? yes. reporter: when would you run out of money, do you think? probably another month or so.
i don t think he s ever had to worry about where your food is coming from or have to worry about how you re going to pay a bill. and i think it shows. i really do. reporter: medicaid pays for much of harper s care, but her parents still need to shell out hundreds of dollars a month for items that aren t covered. you said you would like to actually meet with the president. oh, i would love to. i would love to. him, mitch mcconnell, anybody can come and sit on my couch. reporter: what would you tell president trump if he sat on your couch? first, i would make him meet harper. and i would tell him this isn t about a border. it s about your people. and i know you want to keep your people safe, but by restricting payments of the money that they re rightfully earning, that s not keeping people safe. reporter: what would you want the say to the president if you did get a meeting with him? put us back to work so we can get paid. reporter: chris hasn t been