Charles Norwood: “I guess I hope people will remember this debate too because this is one of the debates that ought to be absolutely…”

“I guess I hope people will remember this debate too because this is one of the debates that ought to be absolutely nonpartisan and ought to have not any political bickering in it. This is about the lives of a lot of human beings that we need to work on. I am on the floor as maybe the only Member of Congress who has IPF. I may not be the only one, but I am the only one we know for sure has IPF. {time} 1815 I am here to bring this resolution to the floor to talk about what this disease is, what IPF is, and to say it over and over again, because that is how you get the word out. I can speak from personal experiences that IPF is a serious lung disorder. Many may not know it, but IPF is the most common form of interstitial lung disease. I guarantee you, most of us do not know that. Idiopathic, and I have been asked this 1,000 times, means that there is no known cause. It is hard to cure something when you do not know what caused it. Pulmonary fibrosis has no cure or treatment. However, I would say to my friend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), having a new lung certainly extends one's lifetime, and I am going to be here to argue with him a lot longer than the statistics say. So do not give up. I am going to be with you awhile. With this disease, a person's ability to breathe becomes increasingly restricted, and it is painful, and eventually, of course, it results in death.…”