I attended Representative Harrigan’s Feb. 21 event on campus, and would be remiss if I didn’t offer an op-ed on how the event played out for our family — constituents from his 10th district. I realize that the news relies on having a variety of views and narratives, and I want to support that goal by using my voice. Thank you.

It was 11:50 a.m. Friday morning, and we were already late.

If you are a parent, this is often the case — and I am the parent of a medically complex child. I’m always late.

I looked at my child in the rearview. Strapped in her seat, she sat surrounded by the gear that creates the backdrop of our lives: extra oxygen tanks, rescue medicine pack, g-tube extension, syringes and the list of nearby hospitals just in case. We were on our way to talk to Congressman Harrigan.

I had never been to Hickory. It is over an hour from where we live. I was alone and nervous. Long trips to unknown places are risky for us, but my husband couldn’t take off from work for an event that started in the middle of a workday.

I considered turning around, but there were no other events on our congressman’s calendar. This was it. “…Discuss your concerns,” the event blurb said. My child, vibrant in the rainbow sweater she’d chosen that morning, asked for a snack.

Something in me hardened. He had to hear us. I needed to know that he would be a voice for the medical and education programs our family relies on.

We arrived to find the App State parking lot busy.

I grabbed my child and our gear and raced for the building. As we approached the door I noticed people leaving, some of them visibly angry. I intercepted an older couple, asking the woman what had happened.

“Are you here to see Harrigan?” she said. “He’s gone. They said he left.”

The next hour and a half were a blur of confusion, despair and rage.

This is what I heard: moments before we arrived, our congressman greeted the crowd and pledged that he was a representative for all his constituents. An older woman ran to the front of the audience waving a sign that said “IMPEACH TRUMP” and the crowd erupted into cheers.

This is what I know: We walked into the open house 15 minutes after Congressman Harrigan’s two hour event began. I was told by staffers that he would not be seeing any other constituents that day, despite being down the hall in a nearby office. His schedule would not allow it.

I was informed that I could email him with questions, but his inbox could only accommodate 10 messages at a time. Should I choose, I could call the Washington, D.C., office, schedule an appointment, and return on another day.

When you are the parent of a medically complex child, you are familiar with your needs being placed just out of your reach. Alongside your child, you cut your teeth on gutting setbacks and blinding joy alike. You learn to use any tool you can get your hands on for the sake of survival. There are no other options: you learn quickly.

Despite never having a chance to interact with my representative, I learned a remarkable amount about him on Friday.

The message I took away was this: our congressman is a man who will only be accessed by the right kind of people. Constituent or not, my family and I do not seem to be the right kind. The theater of this type of politicking zips past us. It is hard for us to jump through many hoops.

I would love to be proven wrong. I want commitment from my representative that my child’s public school will not lose funding for her interpreters, or her paraprofessional who helps her navigate the halls, her friendships and her academics.

I want commitment from my representative that her health care resources, vital organizations like the Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center and the Family Support Network as well as her Medicaid, will not disappear because Elon Musk decides funding them is unnecessary.

I am not a green beret. However, I too have had to learn to be as brave and relentless as the situation requires of me. My hope is these characteristics will be respected, and that our fragilities will be protected. We need our congressman to stand not only for those who would applaud him, but those of his constituents throughout the district with the most to lose under his watch.