Before his passing, Congressman Sylvester Turner spent his final hours advocating for a little girl’s health at the U.S. Capitol.
Angela Hernandez, a Houston mother, never imagined that her recent visit to the U.S. Capitol would become such a bittersweet memory. Just hours before the passing of U.S. Representative Sylvester Turner, Hernandez sat beside him during a crucial advocacy effort, sharing her daughter’s story at President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress.
Hernandez had traveled to Washington, D.C., as Turner’s guest, driven by her ongoing fight to secure critical medical care for her two-year-old daughter, Baislee Garcia. The little girl lives with a rare condition known as Chromosome 8P inversion/duplication/deletion, which can lead to developmental delays, intellectual disability, and birth defects.
The following morning, before Hernandez could board her flight back to Houston, she learned that Turner had passed away. The news left her stunned and heartbroken.
“I was in shock at first,” Hernandez said, describing the wave of emotions that followed. “But then I realized the last thing he was doing was standing up for Baislee,” she added.
Turner’s final message on social media reflected that same spirit of advocacy—highlighting Hernandez’s fight and the importance of Medicaid funding for families like hers. For Garcia, Medicaid covers life-changing treatments, including a cochlear implant for her hearing loss and specialized feeding therapies due to her difficulty eating solid foods.
As a full-time working mother, Hernandez relies heavily on this support. She said Turner’s willingness to amplify her voice made a world of difference. Congressman Sylvester Turner sadly passed away on Wednesday (March 5, 2025) at 70 years old. More details on the story will follow shortly.
