Man fighting to take emotional support cutout of President Trump to dialysis appointment

Thursday, February 13, 2020
A man in Florida undergoing kidney dialysis is fighting for the ability to take his cutout of President Donald Trump to his appointments.

Nelson Gibson says he spends about three and a half hours a day, three days a week undergoing treatment and needs the cutout for emotional support.

Because Gibson's family is not allowed to sit with him for so long, he started bringing a photo of President Trump to comfort him. He then started taking the cutout but no one complained.

When he returned on Tuesday, he says the mood changed.

"They told me it was too much and it wasn't a rally," Gibson told WPBF.

Gibson says he didn't say anything and left. His son contacted representatives at the facility to find out why the cutout was not allowed.

"It was supposed to be an issue of safety from infectious disease which made no sense," Eric Gibson said.

Gibson says he feels he's being singled out since the center encourages patients to bring things that make them feel comfortable. But he hopes they will have a change of heart.

The dialysis center later issued the following statement:

"We strongly support the ability of all our patients to express their views, which includes bringing reasonably sized items into our dialysis centers that do not create safety or infection control issues, or interfere with caregivers on the treatment floor."
Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.