While many teenagers were sitting on the couch for summer vacation, a Bay area teen spent his summer lobbying members of Congress.
Back in 1995, Hunter Ratcliffe, who is now 17, was the first patient at All Children's Hospital to get a heart transplant. Since then he has gone from the hospital to the football and soccer fields.
Now he's an advocate for the Children's Hospital Association, trying to make sure all children can get the medical help they need.
“I tried to persuade them to fight for us because we really need Medicaid for us,” Ratcliffe said.
Ratcliffe went to Washington to meet with members of Congress about the possibility of billions of dollars being cut from Medicaid over the next 10 years. He said that funding is what helps keep children like him alive.
“He gets lab work, he gets echocardiograms, he has doctor’s visits," Ratcliffe's mother, Catherine, said. "All of that runs into thousands and thousands of dollars."
She said that because of the care her son received from All Children's Hospital, he won't need another transplant.
Ratcliffe and his parents met one-on-one with members of the Bay area's congressional delegation, Kathy Castor, Gus Bilirakis and Bill Young. He even shared his story from transplant to sports star with Senator Bill Nelson.
“Hopefully I made a difference," Ratcliffe said. "Hopefully they can realize what a true story this is for all children and for me."