A story of struggle and survival

Last spring, Rachel Peck went to her doctor for a routine physical. But the doctor discovered something that was anything but routine: a lump on her neck.

Papillary thyroid cancer.

The junior criminology and criminal justice and psychology major underwent a series of biopsies, surgeries and radioactive treatments — expensive procedures that would have driven her thousands of dollars into debt had she not been covered by her parents' health insurance plan. When she graduates, however, she will be dropped by the plan and is scared she may not find new coverage due to her illness.

Peck was chosen to introduce President Barack Obama at the health care rally in  Comcast Center yesterday. She said her story is an example of why the president's health care reforms are necessary — Obama's plan would prevent insurance companies from denying coverage due to a pre-existing condition.

"You just heard Rachel's story," Obama said. "She's OK right now — she's thriving. But when she goes into the workforce and their insurance companies start asking, ‘Well, have you been sick before?' right now she'd have trouble getting insurance. Under the bill that we sign, she will still be able to get coverage."

At last Saturday's football game, Peck learned of the possibility of introducing Obama at the rally. Peck works as an emergency medical technician during the games, and her boss, University Health Center Director Sacared Bodison, told Peck a White House official had contacted her looking for people with influential stories. Peck showed Bodison her website, where she chronicled her experiences with cancer: http://www.mythyroidcancerstory.webs.com.

The next day, White House representatives told Peck they had chosen her out of a group of six or seven candidates to speak at the rally.

Peck began working on a draft of her remarks immediately and sent a copy to the White House late Monday night, but she did not start practicing the two-page speech until Wednesday night.

"There was a little bit of procrastination," Peck said. "It's my story, so it's not that hard to tell."

Peck arrived at Comcast Center yesterday morning and waited an hour and a half for the president. To kill time, she said she sat in the stands going over the speech in her head.

"You can recite something," Peck said. "But who knows what to do in front of 17,000 people?"

The perks? Peck got to talk to Obama for a few minutes before showtime. She said they mostly made small talk and joked around — she asked him if he was nervous.

"The coolest part was that he gave a shout-out a couple times to me in his speech," Peck said. "And plus, who doesn't want a kiss on the cheek from the president?"

But before the speech, Peck was preoccupied with her own nerves. She said meeting Obama was no problem compared to speaking in front of a packed arena.

"Yeah, I was so unbelievably nervous," Peck said. "I was not nervous about meeting the president. That's no big deal. I was making jokes, so I didn't have to think about what I was about to say."

tousignant at umdbk dot com