State Of The Union Address: Tiverton Woman Invited

TIVERTON, RI—When President Trump delivered his first State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, a 23-year-old Tiverton woman was invited to be an eyewitness. Bridget Santos was a guest of U.S. Cong. David Cicilline. The Rhode Island Democrat invited her, as is customary for elected officials to bring guests. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse invited a Galilee fisherman as a reminder offshore drilling would not be beneficial to Rhode Island.

The president and first lady invited 15 special guests to the event. They included a firefighter, David Dahlberg, who saved 62 children and adults from a wildfire that surrounded their California camp. Also invited was Staff Sgt. Justin Peck who saved a team member in Raqqa, Syria, after a bomb exploded. Click here to see the complete list. The president also invited enterprising business owners and people who are making a difference in their communities, such as the founder of the Cajun Navy, who helped hurricane victims, and an Albuquerque, New Mexico police officer who, with his wife adopted a baby from parents battling opioid addiction.

Cicilline's office said that Santos received coverage for hip replacement surgery through the Affordable Care Act. She has recovered from surgery, works full-time and is weighing a return to college.

She was diagnosed during childhood with hip dysplasia – "a congenital condition in which the hip joint fails to develop normally. Complications that resulted from a series of operations resulted in her developing acute arthritis that could only be corrected through hip replacement surgery." However, doctors recommended against the procedure until she became an adult.

"Despite her pre-existing condition, and her mother losing her job last year, Bridget was approved for the operation a year ago thanks to the Affordable Care Act," Cicilline's office said.

“Bridget Santos is a courageous young woman. Over the course of her life, she’s endured more suffering than most her age, but she is thriving today because she could afford critical health care services,” Cicilline said. “Republicans are going to have to answer for their efforts to go back to a time when folks like Bridget couldn’t afford health care because of a pre-existing condition.”

White House Photo