When the topic of America’s health care system comes up at a Democratic presidential debate, you can count on the candidates having plenty to say — and none of it good. Not that any of them are listening to the regular Americans they claim to represent, but one of those regular Americans, conservative tweeter Allan Bourdius, has had a very recent experience with our health care system, and he’s got a message for any candidate looking to bash it:

A thread: my recent #Healthcare story. About 25 hours ago, my 14-year-old son was struck with some severe pain. He texted me that he was in a bad way at 4:50pm, and I was fortunately already on my way home. I got there about 20 minutes later. (1/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

Checking on him, it was clear that he needed a doctor. Called his pediatrician as I've got the number saved in my phone. They're only ~5 miles away, but were gone for the day. Loaded him in my truck, and we headed to the @ChildrensPgh express care about 20 mins. away. (2/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

He was trying to be brave, but was really hurting. Asked if he wanted to hold my hand, and he did. When we got to @ChildrensPgh express care, they checked us in very quickly, pulled all his info thanks to EMR, and got us back to a treatment room in under 5 minutes. (3/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

In the exam room, we waited maybe two minutes for the doctor to come in. After a quick physical exam, the doctor concluded he was going to need an ultrasound exam and other tests. They called ahead to the @ChildrensPgh ER to alert & let them know we were coming ASAP. (4/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

15-20 minutes after arriving at express care, we were on our way to the ER. @ChildrensPgh was about 30 minutes away. I did the panicked parent thing, drove 85 in 55 zones, and made it in about 22 minutes. My wife was there waiting for us. (5/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

Since we were at an urban ER, we had to go through the metal detector bit, but got through very quickly. By the time I got back to the ER after parking my truck (3-5 minutes) he was already being taken back to an exam room. @ChildrensPgh was ready to rock. (6/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

When we got to his exam room, his emergency medicine RN was already there to get him settled and take his vitals. She was assisted by a cool EMT/Paramedic doing an ER rotation. We waited maybe 5 minutes before the attending ER physician came in. (7/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

The doctor told us that they had already alerted ultrasound of the need for an immediate scan and that we'd be heading up very soon. She did a great explanation of what they thought the problem was and what the plan was. She explained it in terms my boy could understand. (8/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

We've now been at the @ChildrensPgh ER for ~20 minutes, and the wheelchair has arrived to take my son up to ultrasound. Straight into an ultrasound room, and we were sitting there for maybe 3 minutes before the tech came in to do the scan. (9/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

The ultrasound took about 10 minutes, and we waited briefly while – also through EMR and technology – the relevant physicians could review the data and determine a treatment plan. They saw what they needed to on the scan, so we're back to the ER. (10/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

Back at the @ChildrensPgh ER treatment room, the attending doc was pretty much right on our heels going back in. Once he was back in the bed, she told us all that he was going to need surgery to correct the problem. She did so much to calm his fear. (11/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

The ER nurse and EMT/Paramedic assistant took over and got my son hooked up to the EKG and got his IV started in minutes. Paramedic dude was great at making him feel calm. It wasn't long before one of the surgical nurses was there to wheel him upstairs. (12/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

Along the way upstairs, we were joined by the surgery resident who was going to be assisting in the procedure. He had come from *another hospital* in the @UPMC system, and had been dispatched to @ChildrensPgh even before the ultrasound was finished. (13/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

Upon arrival in the surgical staging room, the surgeon who'd be leading my son's operation was there within minutes. He and the resident had a brief conference over where they could view the scans, and then came over to tell us what was next. (14/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

The surgeon's great bedside manner put us all at ease. He was a little guy (shorter than me, and I'm 5' 7") and I think that made him seem much less intimidating to my son. He said the procedure would take an hour or less, and they were ready to go. (15/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

My son got a quick exam from the attending anesthesiologist, and then it was time for him to go to the OR, and us to the waiting room. Time for some snacks and coffee while we waited. A couple of salads & a sandwich to share cost ~$12. Bravo @ChildrensPgh! (16/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

All told, it was ~2 hours from entering @ChildrensPgh until my boy was getting the care he needed. Simply awesome. ~45 minutes later, the surgeon was in the waiting room to tell us that everything went perfectly and he was in recovery. (17/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

The longest wait we had was between being told that the surgery was done and when we could go back to the recovery area to see my boy. He was really groggy (of course) but doing well. Best news: he was going to be able to go home and not spend a night in the hospital. (18/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

Within an hour of us going back to the recovery room, he was cleared to leave. The recovery nurses gave us all the discharge instructions and after-care information. An hour or so after that, he was soundly asleep in his own bed by 11:15pm; ~7 hours after this started. (19/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

I can't say enough about the professionalism & incredible patient care at @ChildrensPgh, their Wexford express care office, & the @UPMC system in general. They all did everything my son needed quickly and successfully. Thanks to all. But that isn't why I'm writing this. (20/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

I'm writing this thread because *this* is the state of #healthcare in the United States. *This* is the system the people on stage in the #DemDebate tonight will say is sub-par and a disgrace. Everything they will say about our health care is a lie. (21/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

In every treatment room in the @ChildrensPgh ER, there is a sign that says they are duty and legally bound to provide necessary life-saving or stabilizing care regardless of a patient's ability to pay. This is true *everywhere*. (22/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

The @UPMC system and @ChildrensPgh have clearly made incredible investments in patient care and enabling technologies. Their existence as a preeminent private #healthcare system is threatened by thoughts of government taking over our medical system. (23/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

Would @UPMC and @ChildrensPgh make those investments if their care was managed by the government? Would all the providers who treated my son have been as dedicated if they were paid on the General Scale, which #MedicareForAll will ultimately lead to? (24/25) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

I say an emphatic "NO" to those propositions. I realize not everywhere has @UPMC and @ChildrensPgh, but handing it all over to the government everywhere will only guarantee that NO ONE HAS THEM ANYWHERE. #HandsOffMyHealthcare #HandsOffOurHealthcare (25/fin) — Allan Bourdius (@UnrealAllan) January 14, 2020

Is our health care system perfect? Far from it. But there should be no doubt whatsoever that a government takeover would exacerbate existing problems and create countless new ones. Bourdius is right: the government needs to keep its hands off our health care.