Md. Mom Aids Bid For Health Coverage

"Bonnie's a symbol of the true depth of the health-care crisis in Maryland," said Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, which is sponsoring the new radio ad. "Luckily, CHIP is there for their kids, but there's nothing for them."

DeMarco's 14-year-old son attends the Park School with Graeme and Zeke, which is how the Frosts came to the attention of congressional Democrats looking for a voice for children's health insurance. Graeme's Sept. 29 response to the president's radio address was the first by a child.

Graeme and Zeke do attend private school, Bonnie Frost said yesterday, but on scholarship. Gemma's tuition at a special school for brain-injured children is covered by the state. The Frosts bought their home 17 years ago for $55,000. "There were drug dealers and abandoned houses on the street then," Bonnie said. The neighborhood has improved drastically.

The Frosts met in college, when Halsey brought his sick cat to the animal hospital where Bonnie was working as a technician. They are Democrats but never were activists until now, they said.

When MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann invited them to appear Friday night on his show, he asked them to bring photographs of Graeme and Gemma in the emergency room after the accident. The children were barely recognizable, their bodies covered with blood and attached to tubes.

It was a gruesome image, one that brought new criticism from conservative bloggers.

"I didn't want to make it a sensational thing," Bonnie Frost said yesterday. "It was not a decision we made lightly, to show them. But it was important to show that the kids really needed help."