We still can't believe we were chosen to represent stroke survivors for the state of Iowa. We will be forever grateful for taking part in something so amazing. It was kind of surreal. It probably wasn't until we were heading home that we realized what we just did.
We started the morning joining the entire large group for a breakfast and pep talk before we left for the Capitol. We heard from the CEO of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association plus a heartfelt speech by Bob Harper from the Biggest Loser. It reminded us why we there.
We were being sent off to talk with our representatives about some important issues that, if passed, will help many Americans. We were focused on issues such as; The F.A.S.T Act which focuses on Telestroke and making sure hospitals have all options available to help people suffering from a stroke, Cardiac Rehab which has guidelines that make it difficult for people trying to rebuild the strength of their heart to receive the training they need without having to travel absurd amount of miles or jump through many hoops along the way, funding increase to the National Institute of Health for more research and development, and of course to tell them to vote no to the latest version of the healthcare bill as it is written now. Too many people will go without insurance and having a lifetime cap doesn't make any sense for someone like us for example. We are young and this could cause us to suffer later in our life when we may need even more insurance. It is hard not to get political when you go to Washington D.C. but that is all I will get into here.
With all this on our minds, it was time for us to speak to our representatives... or at least their staff. We started at the office of Senator Joni Ernst. Her staff member was great! We were seated at a large table with a cabinet near by with a lot of Iowa, UNI, and ISU sports memorabilia. She listened to everything we had to say and gave us excellent feedback. The meeting went well. Next up, we had to cross over to the house of representatives offices. We visited the office of Rep. Steve King. We thought we were meeting with him but due to scheduling conflicts we had a quiet meeting with a member of his staff in a room that lacked the decorations that Senator Ernst's office, but reminded us of visiting some of the business offices in the Crawford County area. This meeting went just as well.
From here we gathered together at the House of Representatives cafeteria. Great food with an atmosphere that reminds you that so many things are happening in this building. It felt alive.
Sadly, we had to leave Team Iowa at this point. Our flight time was getting closer and we knew the airport was going to be crazy at this time of the day. Plus, going through security isn't easy when you are wearing medical devices. After about a 35 minute search, we got to our gate and we were on our way home.
We are now home and hoping to bring what we have learned back to our community to help build what we have already started. We can't wait to share our adventure with others and hopefully ignite the fire to keep moving forward.
Final thoughts on this experience: We are in awe of how many people are working tirelessly behind the scenes to make life just a little bit easier for survivors and their families. We met so many wonderful people that we will not be afraid to reach out to in a time of need and we hope they know they can do the same. And finally, thank you to the staff from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, without you we would have never been able to learn, prepare, and do what we just did. Wow.