To the editor:

My name is Elisha Kitchen. When I was 6 years old I was hit by a car when I got off of my kindergarten school bus. It was Valentine’s Day 1989. I spent 5 1/2 months in the hospital. I am paralyzed from the neck down and use a ventilator to breathe. I am going to be 36 in December. I am a wedding planner.

I, and thousands of others, are alive today because of Michigan’s auto no-fault system. People ask what do people in other states do? They go into nursing homes and die. This I know to be true.

If this accident had to happen to me I am glad that I live in Michigan. It’s auto insurance takes care of its people. I am glad we have Scott Dianda to take care of us by doing the right thing and voting no on reform bills that take care of insurance companies.

I had to learn the Michigan auto no-fault system. I have spent time at the capital. The bill that Scott Dianda voted no on was a perfect example of how he takes care of all of us. Stripping our medical coverage with no guarantee of reduction of premiums is a bad bill. That is insurance company lobbying at their best. To fool us into thinking this is reform is their work of art.

I believe in reform and will continue to go to Lansing. Scott did the right thing. We are lucky to have him. And, personally, I hope we have him for a lot longer.