Roy Blunt (r) [2016 file photo].
A constituent’s account of her phone call to Senator Roy Blunt’s (r) office earlier today:
Recap of what I told Blunt’s LA just about five minutes ago…
“I’m calling again to make sure you understand what’s at stake for me and my family in the healthcare debate. I grew up in Missouri, the youngest of three. My older brother has autism and depends on Medicaid for care. When I was in grade school, my mother showed me a report on Willowbrook, a mental hospital where patients were left to rot in their own waste, naked and unattended for days on end. My mother looked me in the eye, told me that she’s fighting to keep my brother out of an institution because of inhumane care, and explained that one day this fight would be mine. That day is now. I’m fighting hard to ensure my brother is the first man in our family to live past 62 years old. I spend hours on his health, his quality of life, his daily community involvement. And the last thing I need is less funding, less support, and fewer options. I’m calling to tell you that I will be relentless in this quest…because my mother was, my father was, and my brother deserves it. My brother’s name is Bill. He’s 47. He loves trains, planes, the smell of vanilla, Kit Kats, lunch meat, walks, and contributing to his community. It took him years to learn to write his name, to use the bathroom, to sign basic requests. He’s amazing. He’s a Missourian. And he is why I’m on the phone talking to you about a reckless healthcare bill no one wants pushed by a historically unpopular president no one likes. This is what’s at stake. Bill Merritt’s quality of life and health is at stake. And this story is what I intend to share with you daily. Because I inherited this quest with love and appreciation, and my brother is more than worth it.”
Pamela Merritt
Senator Roy Blunt (r) is much more concerned with giving billionaires and millionaires a tax cut. He voted for the motion to proceed. Then he voted to take away access to affordable health care for millions of Americans.
There are thousands of these health care stories. Senator Roy Blunt (r) isn’t listening.
Pamela Merritt is an amazing blogger who I have been reading for years, so I have been following her ongoing story of trying to keep her brother alive and safe. She’s also a reproductive justice advocate.
She wrote some powerful posts about the safety of black men after police shootings began making headlines a few years ago in which she asked about how her brother, who is only semi-verbal could be expected to precisely follow directions from an over-excited police officer, when doing so is apparently a life or death situation for black men.
As a disabled person, I am more than a little in awe of her dedication to her brother, and as a blog reader and commenter, I adore her writing.
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