Yesterday was my son, Ethan’s, 7th birthday, and it wasn't a sure thing he'd make it this far.

I wanted to take this opportunity to share my family's story with the Wellness Wonder Team to give you an idea of why I have become so passionate about the need for a better healthcare system in the United States.

When Ethan was born we found out (with no forewarning) that he had a non-cancerous—but life-threatening—vascular tumor that would require chemotherapy.

I was the primary breadwinner for my family at the time so, when I had to quit working to care for our deathly-ill newborn, we lost our health insurance. Ethan qualified for Medicaid and I will forever be grateful that this public resource was available when my family was in need.

Like Ethan, 31 million children and 8.8 million disabled adults receive medical support through the Medicaid/CHIP program each year. As a program that helps children and disabled adults, it helps families throughout the country remain economically secure.

Has your family been helped by the Medicaid program? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience: www.momsrising.org/member_stories/topic/are-you-or-someone-you-love-helped-by-medicaid

Your experiences are powerful and demonstrate why Medicaid is important. We will bring your strong voices to lawmakers to show them how Medicaid is helping families across the nation!

Without Medicaid, I truly do not think that we could have gotten Ethan the care that he needed, and on his 7th birthday, he's as healthy, strong, and happy, as all of his 1st grade classmates.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, this same quality health coverage through Medicaid will now be available to millions of low-to-moderate income adults. Right now, 25 states and the District of Columbia have opted to use federal funds to expand Medicaid. Find out if your state has opted to expand Medicaid here: kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/state-activity-around-expanding-medicaid-under-the-affordable-care-act/

For those of you living in states that chose not to expand Medicaid, stay tuned as MomsRising will be working with our partners in many states throughout the country to expand Medicaid in the coming year.

Your experiences will help us tell the story of why Medicaid matters and why covering adults through Medicaid makes sense!

If you or someone you know relied on Medicaid or needs Medicaid coverage now, let us know! www.momsrising.org/member_stories/topic/are-you-or-someone-you-love-helped-by-medicaid

We are not infallible. Any family can have a medical catastrophe swoop in and turn their life upside down. I never would have imagined that I would need government help to care for my son, but I'm so grateful we had that help, which is why I fight for others.