President Obama, Meet Gunner Hawkins

Rory Cooper / July 24, 2009

Meet Gunner Hawkins. Gunner loves Disney cartoons. He loves to be read to, so long as there are pictures. Gunner loves his rock ‘n’ roll bunny. He has a Facebook page. And 6-month-old Gunner is loved very much by two caring parents, Kristan and Jonathan. In March of 2009, Gunner was diagnosed with the deadly genetic disease, cystic fibrosis (CF), just two months after being born.

Gunner’s story is not unique. 1 in 4,000 American children are born with cystic fibrosis. What makes Gunner unique is that his parents have been able to articulate in a very special way why President Obama’s health care plan would hurt baby Gunner. Their website, HealthCareforGunner.com, lays out in a way only a mother could how President Obama’s health care plan would limit Gunner’s access to cystic fibrosis specialists, drugs and much needed tests.

Kristan Hawkins says: “Jonathan, Gunner’s father, and I created this website because we want people to understand what we are talking about when we talk about health care reform. We hear politicians and policy makers reference rationing care but there is never a face to rationing. Gunner can be that face. We want people to know.” (more…)