Rick Perry's Friendship With Cancer Patient Was Reason He Wanted Young Girls Vaccinated Against HPV

Well, this bit of news just makes Michele Bachmann look pretty stupid, now doesn't it:

She was 31, and her last wish was to save girls from cervical cancer.


Now, four years after her death, Heather Burcham is making headlines and saving lives again - this time, in the middle of Gov. Rick Perry’s Republican presidential campaign.


When Perry was dogged by opponents and reporters last week about his short-lived 2007 order requiring girls to be vaccinated against HPV, he never mentioned Heather.


But in her last months of life, long after legislative pressure had forced him to rescind the order, he phoned and visited her in Houston, even taking the 80-pound terminal cancer patient for a play day at a friend’s ranch.


Houston developer Craig Wilson, who first hired Burcham as a nanny and came to love her as a family friend, said Perry proved that he meant to save lives, not get publicity.


"He could have brought up this weepy story about Heather and made it a big heart-tugging story," Wilson said Friday.


"He didn’t, because he didn’t befriend her for publicity. He did it because he’s a real human being."


The story of Perry’s friendship with Burcham was retold Thursday by her former co-workers at ABC affiliate KTRK-TV in Houston, including snapshots of Perry taking Burcham for a motorcycle ride and visiting her bedside.


"I like to think Heather’s up in heaven, stirring the pot," Wilson said.


"She wants us all to remember that if this shot had been available when she was 11 or 12, she might not be dead."


He criticized Michele Bachmann’s complaints about the vaccine and maker Merck & Co.’s campaign contributions.


"She boxed herself into that ’all vaccines are evil’ camp," Wilson said. "And saying he did it for the money _ look, there was no reason for the governor to be so kind to Heather. He was trying to do good."

RELATED: Bachmann Says She Was Not Linking Retardation To Cancer-prevention Vaccine