By: Team Sherrod

For Kim, a Hilliard resident, advocacy for Americans with disabilities is deeply personal: Her son—who will be 30 in June—was born with a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and she is his Guardian.

“I have had to fight his entire life for just about everything I ever got to support him. It was and still is a full-time job,” Kim said. “When I step back and look at what I’ve accomplished for my son, providing him a life worth living in his community, I look back and think, ‘Wow, what an amazing journey,’ but it sure didn’t feel that way at the time. It can be hard for families without someone with disabilities to get the healthcare, education, or resources they need, but for someone with disabilities, it’s just that much harder.”

Kim supports Sherrod because of his defense of the Affordable Care Act—which has helped millions of Americans with disabilities get the care they need—and because, as she puts it, Sherrod will be on board with just about anything to help people like her son move forward with their lives. There is still much to be done.

“Too often, people with disabilities are overlooked, written off, and defined by what they cannot do,” she said. “Sherrod listens to the disability community and takes our needs seriously. He has fought to protect the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid expansion, which help us care for our loved ones with disabilities, and I trust him to continue fighting for me, for my son, and for families like ours across Ohio.”