PHOENIX, Ariz. — Tom O’Halleran and his Democratic allies, have spent the entire campaign lying about Tiffany Shedd’s position on health care. However, recently these attacks moved past typical political lies to something more despicable – attacking the Shedd family.
Last Friday, October 23rd, a mailer was delivered to Tiffany Shedd’s son, Steven, along with other voters. This mailer features images of a diabetic child and states, “He’ll be fighting diabetes his whole life. But Tiffany Shedd would let health insurance companies deny him healthcare.” Tom O’Halleran is aware that Tiffany Shedd’s daughter Summer, is a Type 1 diabetic. He has heard her speak about Summer’s condition and Tiffany’s commitment to protecting Arizonans like Summer with pre-existing conditions. To ignore that fact, and specifically target Tiffany Shedd and her family with lies about healthcare for diabetics is despicable.
Summer Shedd responded to O’Halleran in front of Phoenix Children’s Hospital where she was airlifted in a diabetic coma 14 years ago at the age of six.
Summer Shedd said, “No one understands what it means to have a preexisting health condition better than my mom. She would never allow a law to be passed that allowed insurance companies to deny me coverage because of my condition…Tom O’Halleran, I want you to know that what you are doing is shameful, it is completely dishonest and it is just plain wrong. You need to come out and publicly tell the voters the truth that my mom would never abandon my health care needs. You need to make this right. And after that, you need to apologize to my mom. Or, if not, then the voters need to know what kind of man you are that you would do something like this.”
The Shedd family doctor, Dario Lizarraga, M.D. also offered the comment on O’Halleran’s attack: “As the Shedd family doctor, I’ve seen Tiffany Shedd make sure Summer always had what she needed to manage her type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a very difficult disease to manage – particularly for young children, like Summer when she was first diagnosed. But I watched as Tiffany was always willing to do whatever it took to manage Summer’s diabetes as well as educating Summer to give her the tools she needs to manage it herself. That’s how I know that she’ll always protect Arizonans with pre-existing conditions, because Summer is one of those Arizonans.”
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