WASHINGTON, (SPECTRUM NEWS) — Julie Harling Buckholt never would’ve thought she’d be inviting potentially millions of voters inside her home, albeit through her computer screen. The retired Milwaukee teacher has the opportunity to share her story on a national stage next week.

“Of course, I’m on the national stage and here I am Zooming,” she says.

She joins an exclusive list of scheduled speakers for the now-virtual 2020 DNC Convention. And as exciting as that may sound, Buckholt never really wanted to get involved in politics.

“I went to rallies and protests and all that but now I’ve become very vocal with the [Affordable Care Act] and with my illness and getting my story out there,” says Buckholt.

Her strong conviction this time around stems from Pres. Trump’s efforts to dismantle the ACA. She has been living with an autoimmune disease since 1993 so, for her, the preservation of Obamacare is a matter of life and death.

“I was diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis 27 years ago,” says Buckholt. “My daughters were also diagnosed at the ages of 13 and 14 which is very uncommon to have three people in one family to have it.”

Buckholt says her family had to pay a copay every time they visited a doctor and because of their disease, they would have to make multiple trips a week.

“Prior to the Affordable Care Act, our copays were astronomical,” she says.

On a teacher’s salary, those out-of-pocket costs were hard to handle. She says Obamacare put a cap on the number of copays her insurance company required her to pay. 

Her story is the reason why the DNC asked her to participate. And even if it won’t be in-person at the Fiserv Forum like originally planned, she thinks there’s a lot people can learn from Wisconsin voices like hers.

“We have a lot to offer here in Wisconsin and Milwaukee would’ve offered a lot during the DNC,” says Buckholt.​