Capitol Hill Day

OMG! OMG! OMG! This has been an amazing day!!!  It started with my bad hair day!  You know how your hair is when you wash it in the hotel shower and it is really soft and then you can't fix it?!?!?  lol  We had some meetings in the morning with all the American Heart Association group (100) of us in the hotel.  They had some speakers that enlightened us on heart statistics and other information.  My job was to go into the offices and tell my story then ask for 35 billion dollars for the NIH (National Institutes for Health).  The NIH provides research for all diseases not just heart disease.  Heart Disease kills one in two people and is by far the number one killer of men and women, so it wasn't a hard sell. Problem is our huge deficit we share as a nation.  Anyway, after lunch I went with a guy named Brian to the Senator's offices.  I   did not get to meet with either Senator like I thought because they were in sessions.  I met with their aids which they say is sometimes better because they help make the major decisions.  I was bummed none the less.  It was really cool going into their offices though.  Then I went over to the House side where I was to meet with Representative Tom Cole.  Well I guess Representative Cole is a major decision maker in passing health care legislation and he is on one of the big committees.  So, at my meeting it was the President of the American Heart Association, Dr. Sacco (chief of staff of Miami's hospital),  Brian from Austin with the AHA, Rep. Cole, his assistant, and me.  Most of the time Rep. Cole and I talked about Tuttle and Moore and things we knew in common.  I told him my story of my heart attack and some statistics of Oklahoma related heart concerns.  Then Dr. Sacco gave him more facts.  Tom Cole was so gracious and said that our cause was near and dear to his heart and they already plan on supporting it.  Then he took me into another office to show me his signed poster of Jason White lol!  It was a fun experience and a great opportunity.  However, I found out that if anyone wants to go into your Senator or Representative's office all you have to do is get to Washington D.C., go through security and walk into their office.  That doesn't mean they will be there, but they just may be!!!!  I met up with Kasey and found out that she has had a great day at the Smithsonian!  We got dressed and went to Morton's for a fabulous dinner!  We have had such a great time here and are ready to get home to see our kids in the 2nd grade music program tonight!!!!  BTW I got to see Hershal Walker in the cafeteria of the House!!! How cool!