Personal Responsibiity.
Before I venture in to the main point of this diary, I’d like to make a few comments about persons who actually took “personal responsibility” for their choices, and among them would be my Dad, pictured above.
This was a man who got run over by a drunk driver in Massachusetts in 1960, with his wife and very young children in the car, and endured 10 surgeries to repair his crushed leg. This was a man who, while unable to walk without crutches, went to work every day and completed an MBA degree at NYU at night. This was a man who, while still recovering from his devastating injuries as a result of that drunk driver, answered the call of his country and flew missions over the North Atlantic during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
My Dad inherited a gene that renders those who have it paralyzed in later life. It is very rare disorder. Our family has participated in research for years. There is no cure.
What the Vice President said is simply wrong.
“Personal responsibility” has nothing at all to do with health care.
This is my niece, Kate (right). She is standing with Dr. Denise Faustman of the Faustman Clinic at MassGeneral. Dr. Faustman has been working for years to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Kate was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in January 1992, when she was just 16 months old. Contrary to what the GOP would have us believe, she was not “irresponsible” — she was born with a pre-existing condition. They want to make sure that she is uninsurable.
This is my grandfather. He was born in 1896. This photo was taken while he was serving his country in World War I. He dropped out of Columbia University to suit up and serve. He flew planes in France and Belgium, without benefit of radar or parachutes. He was born with a genetic disease that, late in life, left him paralyzed (much like Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS). Our family has participated in trials for decades, but it is a very rare disease and there is not much interest in it because of its rarity. Rarity is hard when that rare disease is in your family.
This is Mike Phillips. He is able to stay at home and do amazing work because of Obamacare. This amazing young man should never have to worry about where he will wake up. Please let him stay at home and do the good work he does.
Personal Responsibility: Please exercise some, GOP.