Robin Holland's story is, sadly, not unusual.

Diagnosed with brain cancer after a car accident in 1993, Robin had no health insurance at the time. She waited for 5 weeks, wrapped in bandages, while her doctor decided whether he would operate on her for free, and while she waited to be approved for Medicaid.

Although Robin's tumor was operated on, she is left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt due to her medical bills. These bills have greatly affected her credit and haunt her to this day. She continues to be hounded by debt collectors as her bills are passed from company to company. Says Robin, "I just don't pick up the phone."

Now Robin's brain tumor is back. But because her brain tumor was a "pre-existing condition," she has to fight the insurance company tooth and nail to get the preventative care, like MRIs, that she needs. A mother and a nurse, Robin is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and uncertain about her future.

In the fight for health insurance reform, it is important to remember for whom we fight. People like Robin Holland remind us of that the true cost of our broken health care system is measured in people's lives.