As a heavy equipment operator in the logging industry, Troy spent much of his life without health insurance. During that time he watched as colleagues of his lost everything when a medical catastrophe befell them or their children. And too often, Troy saw friends of his lose their lives to treatable illnesses they could not afford to seek treatment for.

In 2006, at the age of 37, Troy's heart was attacked by a virus causing an inflammation known as myocarditis. The event nearly killed him and left permanent scarring on his heart, preventing it from beating without the use of a pacemaker. As Troy drifted in and out of consciousness in an ambulance screaming to Portland, his thoughts meandered between his two young children and the friends of his who had lost their lives for lack of healthcare, coverage, and preventative medicine.

The fact of the matter is the high-quality care Troy received that night may only have been a result of the healthcare coverage he'd received for the first time in his adult life as a state legislator. The experience left him with resolve that no one should be without care and coverage, and that the insurance he had should be available and affordable to everyone. Since then, he has championed healthcare expansion, fought to lower the cost, and passed two first in the nation laws that will save lives by making generic-brand prescriptions available.

Troy is currently on his fifth pacemaker.