Mom (60-sec. version) - Sept. 24, 2018

LONG: My mom taught me to work hard. At school, at our family store, and paying my own way through college. We weren't a family of means. We were really scraping by with seven people in a double-wide. It was tough. But she was a really good role model because she had worked hard all of her life and was always so youthful and vibrant. But when I came home from school, she just looked old and I was terrified. I said, "I'm really concerned about you. I want you to go to the doctor." Two days after I went back to school, my dad called and said she had died. It was shocking. She had just turned 43 years old. They did an autopsy, and, you know, she had lung cancer. The thing I remember about it is she was afraid to see a doctor. She knew how expensive it could be and how hard it would be on the family. I think every American has their own story about lack of access to health care. The consequences for not having access to care can be tragic. Anybody who's ill should have access to affordable care, and they shouldn't have to experience what I experienced. It's the number one issue that I'm running on. I'm Carolyn Long and I approve this message.