At the park — but not out of the woods — with Gus

Huge thanks to all of you who read Mike’s excellent post about the potential changes to Medicaid and forwarded it on to others, commented to it on Facebook, and, especially, to those of you who contacted your legislators. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delayed the vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) until after the July 4th recess, and with Congress taking a break now, Mike and I decided we could take one, too. We headed to Wisconsin to visit the young man you all read about in Mike’s post.

Staff at Gus’ group home had him all freshened up and ready in his wheelchair when we arrived, and our son greeted us with a mischievous laugh and a clap of his hands. A reaction to the news about the Senate delaying the vote? More likely in anticipation of the trip we were about to take.

Mike the Pied Piper pushed Gus in his wheelchair with Whitney the Seeing Eye dog and me following close behind. Our destination? The picnic table in the park across the street. Not a whole lot of kids out at the park Friday, so we were able to let Whitney off her harness for a while. She chased a ball while Mike and I talked and sang and laughed…with Gus.

So we are taking a breath this long weekend, but we know we can’t get complacent — we’re not out of the woods yet. You can check out this Medicaid fact sheet to learn more about the Senate health care bill. Then join Mike and me and tell the U.S. Senate: No Cuts, No Caps to Medicaid. Call your state senators to oppose the cuts and caps to Medicaid using this call script with additional talking points. If your Senator has already said they won’t support the bill, thank them and ask them to hold firm on their stance — this form helps you find your Senator simply by filling in your zip code.