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"I thought for a time that Bernie Sanders might be our best option for President...But then I was reminded that some people speak well and inspire, and others actually show up and get things done."
James Grissom, author of Follies of God: Tennessee Williams and the Women of the Fog, shared his story through his Facebook page on how democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton helped him during his battle with cancer.
It was 2007, Grissom was working part time at a bookstore in the Metropolitan Museum of Art when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Knowing that he could not afford to pay for his treatment, he sought treatement at Planned Parenthood physicians, who put him in touch with a caring oncologist.
Despite his attempts to pay, Grissom was reported to a collection agency by the hospital. Alarmed by the huge amount of money he owed, his physician recommended he contact the billing department and his senator, Hillary Clinton.
Within just two weeks of contacting his senator, someone in her office passed the call to Clinton who answered the phone.
"You need to fight cancer and get well: You don't have time for this nonsense," Clinton said to Grissom.
Soon after, Clinton put Grissom in touch with two organizations that offered financial aid to people undergoing cancer treatment. Grissom said that Clinton reached out to him two times, through a letter and phone call.
"I just re-read the letter that Hillary Clinton sent to the hospital (It was Roosevelt if you must know), and in her indignation, she refers to me as her friend. Not a constituent, but a friend," shares the author.
Read his touching account below:
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