Thread by @AdyBarkan

An update on my health.

It’s been increasingly hard for me to breathe on my own, so I’m going to the hospital for a pretty big surgery tomorrow.

I am getting a traecheostomy. Heavy times for our family.

My surgeon will cut an opening in my throat and insert a plastic tube, so a ventilator can be hooked up directly to my lungs.

With this setup, I may be able to live for many more years.

The truth is that I'm lucky to have this surgery.

Approx 90% of Americans with ALS choose not to get a trach because it requires 24-hour care, which even good insurance plans don’t cover. In Japan, where long term care is guaranteed, the numbers are reversed.

That ain't right, and it ain't necessary. We are the richest nation in the history of the world.

I told @BernieSanders and @ewarren that I could only support a #MedicareForAll bill that guarantees long-term care for all. And that is exactly what their plan does.

We have this system because of political corruption: because health care companies use their money to buy political power. And they use that power to kill the people who can't afford to stay alive.

That’s not okay with me, and I know it's not okay with you either. Changing this reality is possible. But it will take all of us.

That's what this election is about. That is what this movement is about.

Being in this movement gives me strength & purpose. It allows me to make meaning out of ALS.

Struggling by your side, I can transcend my withering body. Hitching my future to yours, I can transcend this difficult day.

That is the power of solidarity. The beauty of democracy.