Astrid Muhammed’s life was saved by Obamacare
“I am a wife and mother to 2 young children, ages 6 & 10. I am recovering and alive because I had insurance.”
Astrid Muhammed’s is the perfect illustration of the reason Obamacare was and is a must for millions of Americans. It saves lives. Americans will hear her story tonight at the State of the Union address. She will be sitting in the box with First Lady Michelle Obama at the State of the Union Address.
Astrid Muhammed’s story
Something didn’t feel right, and Astrid knew it. And in April of 2013, she saw an ENT who found the unthinkable: a brain tumor. But Astrid, the mother of two young children, was a self-employed virtual assistant and cardio dance instructor, and she didn’t have insurance — so she couldn’t afford to get the treatment she desperately needed.
After the Health Insurance Marketplace opened in 2014, however, Astrid was finally able to purchase insurance that would cover her medical costs.
“Because of Obamacare, I was able to have the surgery I needed and the tumor was removed on August 28, 2014,” she wrote. “Had I not had the surgery, the surgeon said the tumor could have killed me in another 2 years.”
For a cardio dance instructor, a half-marathon runner, and an active mother, the recovery has been hard. Now, she has to use a cane to walk and has partial hearing issues and facial paralysis. But she is grateful to have been able to get the treatment she needed and is taking her recovery one day at a time.
“I am just so blessed,” she said. “I don’t know what would have happened to me. I am so grateful to God and to the [Affordable Care Act]. Everything was covered.”
Republicans continuous attack on Obamacare without having any plausible solution is inhumane. There are likely hundreds of thousands of cases like Astrid Muhammed’s.
Red State governors not implementing the medicaid expansion to Obamacare are sentencing several of their citizens to death. Republicans wanting to repeal Obamacare would have assured the death of Astrid Muhammed and thousands like her.
One hopes that the vivid example of a life saved will give the party that claims to cherish life second thoughts. One hopes they will choose life over ideology.