Dear Mr. President: On behalf of my brother, thank you
By Dylan Roberts
On August 14th my little brother Murphy had a Type 1 Diabetic seizure while hiking in Southern Utah. He fell, hit his head, and several hours later, passed away due to several complications resulting from the fall. He was twenty-two years old.
Mr. President, I write to you because he and I shared a special bond that centered on an inspiration for service that both of us received from you.
Murphy was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2005 when he was eleven years old. Always smart for his age, he quickly started researching how his disease might be cured one day. This led him to the concept of stem cell research and the federal ban on that research that had been implemented by your predecessor. As I left for college in 2007, I decided that I needed to study politics at school so that one day I could possibly help fight for causes like lifting the stem cell research ban. I thought that would happen after I finished college. However, it was again my little brother that told me about something that was going on in the world that I had to know about: your candidacy. I heard you speak passionately about stem cell research and the need to take advantage of modern technology and science to help alleviate some of our nation’s problems. I knew I had to get involved.
I interned and then was hired as a field organizer for your campaign in 2008 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, my hometown. Murphy, then fourteen years old, came into my office almost every day after school to volunteer by knocking on doors. He was by far my best canvasser. He would always talk about science and stem cell research but his pitch was never about him. He would only speak of the thousands of young children like him who could benefit from your presidency and the advances it could bring in health insurance reform and scientific research advancements. One of my most cherished memories with Murphy will be the phone call I made to him in March 2009 so we could talk about how you had just lifted the federal ban on stem cell research.
I worked for your reelection campaign in 2012, again in Colorado, went to law school and am now a deputy district attorney in rural Colorado. In 2013, Murphy began his studies at Middlebury College in Vermont and he would have been starting his senior year this fall. He was passionate about serving his country and since his diabetes prevented military service, he was studying global terror, international conflict, and Arabic with dreams of one day working for the State Department or the CIA.
Murphy inspired me to fight for change and to always be asking what could be done for others. He was and will always be my inspiration. You, however, were his inspiration. He admired your intelligence, confidence, and unflinching dedication to making people’s lives better.
I had to write this letter for him to simply say: thank you.
Sincerely,
Dylan Roberts
