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An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

I Am an Advocate

Susan Leigh  |  Issue: December 2008  |  

After 30 minutes with the senior aide on health issues, I was told that Congressman Castle would want to meet me. I had 10 minutes one-on-one with him—the other groups had only had handshakes and photo ops—and he agreed to sign the “Medicare Fracture Prevention and Osteoporosis Testing Act” and support a fix to the scheduled Medicare physician fee cuts.

Buoyed by my success, I headed to Senator Joe Biden’s (D-DE) office. There, I met with his senior legislative aide on healthcare for 45 minutes. I was assured that the Senator would not only sign all three bills that the ACR was presenting, but that he had also signed two bills increasing spending on lupus research. I was asked, if the senator wanted to discuss this further, would I be available for his phone call—you can take a guess at my answer!

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As an ACR advocate and an Advocates for Arthritis participant, I have reaffirmed my belief that things can get done on Capitol Hill. The lessons I learned from my father and grandfather as they fought for causes that were important to them continue as I fight for my health and the health of future generations. I thank the ACR for the chance to experience this incredibly fulfilling moment in my life, and I encourage anyone who can make the trip to participate in Advocates for Arthritis. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish. Just look at what happened when one person from Delaware knocked on a few doors!

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