On this #NationalDoctorsDay, I want to share this powerful video from Dr. Francois and Dr. Robinson and thank all o… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
—
Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) March 30, 2020
President Barack Obama delivers a statement on the counter-ISIL campaign in the Pentagon briefing room in Arlington, Virginia
****
****
****
First Lady Michelle Obama arrives with Stephen Orzechowski to read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to a group of children at the Childrens National Health System in Washington
****
****
****
****
President Barack Obama speaks at the Catholic Hospital Association conference in Washington, DC. President Obama discussed what healthcare reform has meant to millions of Americans and the affordable coverage options for individuals in general
****
****
****
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Debra can walk and hold hands with her husband again → go.wh.gov/AzxXEP snpy.tv/1f0HHXk
—
The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 09, 2015****
****
Read the full letter Debra wrote @POTUS in February. This is health care in America: go.wh.gov/AzxXEP #ACAWorks http://t.co/xoWQ3Lv3u0
—
Lindsay Holst (@Holst44) June 09, 2015****
President Barack Obama greets a nun in the audience
Today: President Obama greets Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg, alongside his father Craig, during a visit to Remsburg’s new home in Gilbert, Arizona (Photo by Doug Mills)
****
Washington Post (2013): They were introduced near Omaha Beach in France in 2009, when Sergeant Remsburg was part of a select Army Ranger group chosen to re-enact a parachute drop for celebrations of the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II.
Four months later, on Oct. 1 2009, Sergeant Remsburg was face down in a canal near Kandahar, thrown by the force of a quarter-ton roadside bomb, shrapnel penetrating his brain and right eye. He spent the next three months in a coma, through operations at military hospitals in Afghanistan, Germany and Bethesda, Md., outside Washington. Through the winter of 2010, he was at a veterans’ hospital in Tampa, Fla., where he slowly regained consciousness. In April 2010, he returned to Bethesda for surgery to rebuild his skull.
****
Their second meeting came less than a year later at a military hospital outside Washington, where Mr. Obama was stunned to see among the wounded troops from Afghanistan a familiar young man — now brain-damaged, a track of fresh stitches across his skull, and partly paralyzed…..
…. the President came for his annual physical and to visit patients. Entering a hospital room, he saw a photo on the wall — of himself and Sergeant Remsburg in Normandy — and did a double take, looking at the broken man lying there, and again at the strapping soldier in the frame.
“Cory still couldn’t speak, but he looked me in the eye,” the president said later. “He lifted his arm, and he shook my hand firmly. And when I asked how he was feeling, he held up his hand, pulled his fingers together and gave a thumbs up.”
****
The third meeting was in a private visit in Phoenix, where Sergeant Remsburg did something that neither Mr. Obama nor military doctors would once have predicted: he stood up and saluted his commander in chief.
There was more. Grasping his walker, “Cory took a step, then another, and then another,” Mr. Obama said later, “all the way across the room.”
****
“I first met Cory Remsburg, a proud Army Ranger, at Omaha Beach on the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Along with some of his fellow Rangers, he walked me through the program – a strong, impressive young man, with an easy manner, sharp as a tack. We joked around, and took pictures, and I told him to stay in touch.
A few months later, on his tenth deployment, Cory was nearly killed by a massive roadside bomb in Afghanistan. His comrades found him in a canal, face down, underwater, shrapnel in his brain.
For months, he lay in a coma. The next time I met him, in the hospital, he couldn’t speak; he could barely move. Over the years, he’s endured dozens of surgeries and procedures, and hours of grueling rehab every day.
Even now, Cory is still blind in one eye. He still struggles on his left side. But slowly, steadily, with the support of caregivers like his dad Craig, and the community around him, Cory has grown stronger. Day by day, he’s learned to speak again and stand again and walk again – and he’s working toward the day when he can serve his country again.
“My recovery has not been easy,” he says. “Nothing in life that’s worth anything is easy.”
Cory is here tonight. And like the Army he loves, like the America he serves, Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg never gives up, and he does not quit.”
****
****
AZCentral: An ongoing physical recovery, a new home custom-made for his needs – the only other thing that would really make Cory Remsburg’s day was a visit from the president.
That’s just what happened Friday afternoon … which brought the sixth meeting between the former soldier and the commander-in-chief.
After a visit to Phoenix’s VA hospital, President Obama’s motorcade took an unscheduled detour, heading toward Gilbert and pulling up in front of Remsburg’s newly remodeled home.
… As the motorcade pulled out of Gilbert, Remsburg said the visit was “Completely unexpected,” and “very cool.”
“I’m just a sergeant first class,” he said. “I’m no big deal. He’s the commander-in-chief. He’s a very big deal.”
More here
The home came to Remsburg from Homes for Wounded Warriors, the charity started by NFL player Jared Allen. The organization aims to remodel homes for the most severely disabled veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. (More here)
****
President Obama visits with Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg and family members at his newly finished home in Gilbert, Arizona, March 13, 2015 (Photo by Pete Souza)
****
The First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, visits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, September 17,2014
****
10:45: The President participates in an Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony
12:30: White House press briefing
2:0: The President meets with President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine
3:55: Attends a DNC fundraiser, Washington DC
****
President Obama runs up the steps of the First Lady’s plane before she took off for a flight at JAFB, Md. pic.twitter.com/V4YatFDLqg
— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) September 17, 2014
****
****
More video here
****
****
President Obama arrives for the White House Congressional picnic in a ‘let’s get this over with’ kind of way. #Wise pic.twitter.com/zMlySCShBV
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) September 17, 2014
PBO was happier with Bella there back in the day … haha 🙂 @TheObamaDiary pic.twitter.com/WjYNFkxxNo
— sfpelosi (@sfpelosi) September 18, 2014
Holy smokes @sfpelosi, that was the Baby Whisperer day! http://t.co/LVgPG58VHH
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) September 18, 2014
John Boehner and Rand Paul having a swell time at the White House Congressional Picnic pic.twitter.com/4s9z1JAL4g
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) September 17, 2014
Mark Sanford chatting with his friends at the White House Congressional Picnic. pic.twitter.com/Ynp64TukDo
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) September 17, 2014
****
MoooOOOooorning again! I’m frankly overwhelmed by the excited reaction to my stick people – fear not, there will be more later.
President Barack Obama speaks in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House following his meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. The White House moved Wednesday to address the growing furor over allegations of misconduct at the Department of Veterans Affairs, summoning VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to an Oval Office meeting, hours before the House was scheduled to vote on a bill that would grant the secretary more authority to fire or demote senior executives.
****
****
****
Just three months ago, Senate was poised to pass a big bill expanding VA funding. It was blocked by a GOP filibuster: reuters.com/article/2014/0…
—
Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) May 21, 2014****
'When Fox News Shrugged Over A Veterans Care Scandal (Hint: Bush Was President)'
mediamatters.org/blog/2014/05/2…
—
TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) May 21, 2014****
****
Anybody found to have manipulated or falsified Veterans Affairs records “will be held accountable,” President Obama said Wednesday. The president condemned the reported widespread problems at the VA, defending Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. Obama spoke after he and Shinseki met in the Oval Office Wednesday morning with White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors, who since last week has been detailed to work with the VA. Neither of those men attended the president’s news conference. Speaking about reports of long wait times — and efforts to cover up the delays — Obama said that if they’re proven true, the behavior is “dishonorable” and “disgraceful.” “I will not stand for it,” Obama said. “None of us should.”
The president said that Nabors is heading to Phoenix today to look into reports that a facility there had produced misleading statistics about veteran care. Obama mentioned accountability several times in his prepared remarks; he also noted that some employees had already been put on administrative leave. He said that his administration will continue “bringing the VA into the 21st century – which is not an easy task.” Obama also defended Shinseki, saying, “No one cares more about our veterans.” But Obama added that he told Shinseki today that he expects accountability and improvement in the full report on the VA’s problems.
More here
****
****
In yet another boost to the health care law, some publicly traded hospitals are claiming that provisions in the Affordable Care Act are already increasing their bottom lines. During a call with investors on Wednesday, Community Health Systems CFO Larry Cash claimed that the company has already seen a decrease in self-pay admissions in the states that have expanded their Medicaid programs and predicted that the law would lower those kind of admissions from 8 percent to 4 percent over a three-year period. The CEOs of LifePoint Hospitals and HCA reported similar experiences: in states that expanded their Medicaid programs,
Medicaid admissions grew, while the number of uninsured admissions declined at faster rates than in states that have yet to comply with the Medicaid provisions of the health care law. “So far and as expected, the new health care law has been a net positive for LifePoint with respect to Medicaid expansion,” CEO Bill Carpenter said during the call. “In the seven states where we operate that have expanded coverage, we saw increasing Medicaid and decreasing self-pay volumes. Increases in Medicaid membership and health insurance exchange participation contributed measurably to our results in the quarter.”
More here
****
My birth control pills now cost me $0. ZERO DOLLARS. #thanksObamacare #noseriously
—
Xtine (@buzz_the_bee) May 07, 2014I have #ObamaCare today! @ACASuccessStory @obamacare @AnneFilipic @Cigna @allinwithchris @Lawrence #GotCovered #Cigna http://t.co/mWnYQSNaoF
—
Jarryd Willis ABD MS (@OFA_Jarryd) May 01, 2014****
Happy #MayDay! I have #HealthInsurance for 1st time in 20 years. Premium paid, free doctor visit scheduled. Thanks #ACA! @ACASuccessStory
—
Daniel Beerthuis (@DanielBeerthuis) May 01, 2014All you Obamacare haters get out because I couldn't be happier with my insurance that I purchased through the exchange! @ThanksObamacare
—
Nigel Huckle (@NigelHuckle) April 07, 2014****
I did not have to pay for my daughters prescription tonight @ThanksObamacare #progress #PaulRyaniswrong
—
bigusLA (@biguskdubs) April 04, 2014A friend just got health insurance. He'd gone without for 13 years due to diabetes ("pre-existing condition"). @ThanksObamacare. #obamacare
—
Rhiannon Paine (@calbion) April 03, 2014****
@ThanksObamacare for the incredible security of no longer being worried about being kicked off insurance if cancer returns. Its priceless.
—
Kensgal3 (@kensgal3) March 31, 2014@ThanksObamacare we now have affordable healthcare insurance!
—
Haydon Street Inn (@hsinnkeeper) March 04, 2014
Obama White House.gov WH Tumblr The People’s View Steve Benen
The Obama Diary 
You must be logged in to post a comment.