As the former President of the United States of America, Barack Obama has endured his fair share of emotional times, but nothing could prepare him for how he would feel when his daughter Sasha was delivered a heartwrenching health diagnosis.
The politician and his wife, Michelle, are proud parents to Malia, 23, and Sasha, 20, who are now grown up, happy, and healthy.
However, when Sasha was only three months old, Barack and Michelle‘s world began to unravel as she was diagnosed with meningitis.
While on the campaign trail in 2012, Barack opened up about it and said: “People ask me what was the hardest time in my life — they ask, well what about during the debt ceiling debate and this and that and the other thing.
“Sasha got meningitis when she was three months old. I still remember going to the hospital together and they had to give her a spinal tap.”
The father-of-two added: “The doctors did a terrific job, but, frankly, it was the nurses that were there with us when she had to get a spinal tap and all sorts of things that were just bringing me to tears.”
The agonizing time will be forever etched on Michelle’s mind too as she explained during an interview with Rev. Al Sharpton.
“I will never forget. It was a day when, you know, one hour she was fine, she was normal, she was happy, doing everything I was used to her doing and the next hour she was crying inconsolably, and that just wasn’t like her. And I did everything.”
She continued: “I tried to do – tried to feed her, tried to rock her, tried to burp her. Finally, I just thought, I need to call my pediatrician.”
After she described Sasha’s symptoms, the medical staff insisted they rush to the emergency room.
“As it turned out, she had meningitis. And they had to do a spinal tap,” said Michelle who admitted that had she not had access to health care things could have had a very different outcome.
“She turned out – obviously, as this story ends, she is fine, she’s healthy, she’s a beautiful young lady, but if we hadn’t had insurance, and access to a pediatrician, and access to a hospital where we didn’t have to worry about the cost of care – if we had waited overnight, if we had postponed acting, there’s no telling what the outcome would’ve been.”
Fortunately, Sasha did make a full recovery, which the famous family is grateful for every single day. She attends the University of Michigan, while her big sister, Malia, recently graduated from Harvard.