Her fictional "Remember Me" email sparked a real connection

When Emily Todebush was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, her passion for affordable healthcare led her to contact Garrett Arwa.

In July 2013, Emily Erin Todebush wrote Garrett Odhiambo Arwa an email claiming they knew each other.

"I said, 'Hey, you might not remember me, but we worked together on Obama's campaign,'" she said. She hadn't made it all up: In August 2012, Ms. Todebush, then a volunteer field organizer for Mr. Obama's presidential re-election campaign, found herself in the same room as Mr. Arwa, then Michigan's executive director. . Democratic Party, at a launch event in Royal Oaks, Michigan.

Neither remembers speaking to the other that day. Ms. Todebush thinks they may have met in passing. But she felt compelled to write to him after seeing his photo and email address at the top of the Michigan Democratic Party website. She wanted to discuss an issue that had unexpectedly become central to her life: access to affordable healthcare.

Ms. Todebush, 37, is now director of development at the Committee to Protect Health Care, an advocacy organization. Mr Arwa, 41, is now acting executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

In her email, Ms Todebush hoped to get in touch with another supporter on what had become a hot political issue in Michigan: the expansion of Medicaid. Months earlier, she had started feeling numbness and pain behind her right eye. In February 2013, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. "I was 27," she said. "It was pretty devastating."

She wasn't receiving Medicaid. But "I felt that maybe one day I should do it," she said. "I wanted to stand up for those in need."

At the time, Michigan lawmakers were considering a bill to expand Medicaid. Mr Arwa, who knew stories like Ms Todebush's helped humanise those who depend on aid, was grateful she had reached out.

Image Father of the groom, James Arwa, center, gives a blessing before dinner. He is flanked by Cheryl Arwa, the groom's mother (in blue), Bethany Arwa, the groom's sister, and Bryan Zulko, a groomsman.Credit...Sarah Rice for The New York Times

< figure class="img -sz- css-13wylk3 e1g7ppur0" aria-label="media" role="group">ImageGuests including Vanessa Arwa, a sister of the groom, second from right, listen to the speeches.Credit...Sarah Rice for The New York Times

In his response, he played along by saying they were acquaintances. "He said, 'It's so good to hear from you,'" Ms Todebush said. "Then he said, 'I think we can do something with this'."

Mrs. Todebush grew up in Birmingham, Michigan, with an older sister and three younger siblings. two are siblings and one is non-binary. Her parents, Susan and Thomas Todebush, divorced when she was in fifth grade. Susan Todebush is executive vice president and general manager of the Michigan Design Center. Thomas Todebush is the Senior Program Manager at