years ago. you're seeing her there. moments before the man convicted of the crime was to have acid dropped in his own eyes, blinding him, iran's state media reports she stopped the punishment, had a change of heart. so it was not carried out. i will be back with you at the top of the hour with more live news. a couple of developing stories we are keeping an eye on in iran and washington, d.c. but right now, time for the good doctor. i'm dr. sanjay gupta. thanks for being with us. we have a lot to catch you up on this morning, including a controversial ruling for workers at the twin tower rescue scene on 9/11. a remarkable story. and also a top motorcycle racer who found a way to continue his career even after an accident left him partially paralyzed. we'll explain. first, how the budget deal innings washington could impact kids. including little max paige. maybe i should call him mini darth vader.

>> you remember max paige. we introduced you to him last week as well. he's a crazy cute kid. he's six years old but also on his third pacemaker. he's had eight major operations. a lot of people don't know that about him. this week he took capitol hill by storm. max and his family came to washington with a group of kids to put the pressure on lawmakers. >> we are one family from california trying to make a difference. >> reporter: to protect medicaid coverage for children and to preserve federal funding for the programs that train nearly half

the nation's pediatricians. he met with lawmakers from both parties. >> i really want to help my hospital. it's a really neat hospital. >> so it's hard for something like a worthy institution like this. >> you'll be around here a lot longer than i am. we want to make sure -- >> i think you've been around here a lot longer than i have. >> reporter: and max joins me now from washington along with mom, jennifer, dad, buck. we lost the little brother. he's taking a nap, is he. >> he's in the control room directing the show. >> why does that not surprise me at all, knowing the paige boys. max, how has the week been for you, sort of what you expected? >> it's been on the darth planet. it's been on the darth planet all right. >> tell him about the special place you got to eat. >> i got to eat in the senate dining room. >> that's pretty impressive.

jennifer and buck, when you're describing why you guys are there, is there a particular mission? >> the mission is two-fold. max is up here to try and help save the medicaid funding for children. 30 million children are on medicaid and also to get the message out to save the funding for children's hospital graduate training program so we're training pediatricians in children's hospital facilities. children's hospitals are 1% of the hospitals yet they train 40% of the pediatricians and pediatric specialists. and that was the main mission for the last 2 1/2 days, just to get the word out. >> buck, we've obviously talked about this quite a bit. i don't think a lot of people realize these programs are in jeopardy, talking again about medicaid which provides this level of care to about a third of kids out there and then training doctors as jennifer was saying. were you -- do people seem to understand the implications of

your message? >> i think they all understood what we were here to do and the message that we were delivering. i think we broke it out in some very clear detail, even if it was confusing at one point where it might have been lumped into a bigger package. they all seemed very committed and they all listened and they all seemed to understand and had a clearer focus on what part of the overall challenge but the part that we were here representing, i think they had a very clear understanding. >> and jennifer, so if the message is not received, what is the worst case scenario here? what happens as a result? >> as a result, the funding will get cut for medicaid for the children and the graduate programs at our hospital, we're at children's hospital of los angeles, we have 200 pediatric -- pediatricians in

training at any one time. that number at just our hospital would drop down to 50. it would depress by 75%. we'd have a short term and very long term impact on not just the specialists but the basic pediatrician which every pregnant woman goes and interviews pediatricians about your eighth month. it's very important long term. >> no doubt about it. you're sort of representing a lot of kids. a lot of kids are looking to you and hoping that the senators and the congressional leaders are listening to you. do you feel like they were listening to you, max? >> i feel a lot like they're listening to me, huh? >> yes. i think they had fun with you. it was a stressful week up there but you made it fun up there. there was a lot of laughter when you walked in the halls. >> congratulations, paige family. you are doing amazing work. i know people are listening. there's been a lot of discussion regarding where we're going in

this country in terms of our budget. >> thank you and thank you so much for your support and the message. >> thank you. earlier this year, the white house proposed to eliminate all funding for the federal program that helps train pediatricians and pediatric specialists. that's what jennifer was just talking about. they say we need to save the money. while max was in washington, a house subcommittee voted to continue the program. it's just a first step, an important one but there are many more committees that still need to weigh in. the other big issue you heard about from max and other kids lobbying in d.c. is medicaid. about a third of all kids in hospitals get some sort of medicaid assistance. after max and his family left his office, we caught a few minutes with the other max, democratic senator max baucus. >> there probably will be some cuts and probably should be some cuts until we get our deficits under control. we're not going to cut kids, whether it's a health insurance program under medicaid, we're just not going to cut kids.

>> that's good to hear. the budget fight is unfolding but it's clear, some of the proposals being discussed could result in major cuts to medicaid which, again, helps many children as well as people with low income. we spent time with manerva love, a 5-year-old girl whose family relies on medicaid for her care. her family calls her mimi. she has a smile that lights up a room. >> i had, manerva, how are you. >> like it did this week on capitol hill. as a young baby she developed hydrocephalus, her skull filled with fluid and that blocked her brain's development. >> it's like it's so much to take in. it was scary because it's like you're telling me my kid doesn't have -- i never heard of this. she doesn't have a brain? it was scary. it was so scary. >> i had. >> i had. >> yes. >> mimi's thinking is mostly

normal for her age but her motor skills are almost nonexistent. >> at first she couldn't even lift up her head like this. >> reporter: mimi's mother works for the federal government, the tsa. without medicaid she says she doesn't know how she could pay for physical therapy or this device. >> nice job. >> reporter: that's why she's so worried that the budget fight will make it that much harder to care for her daughter. >> being that she requires literally almost a lifetime worth of therapy, she requires multiple therapies every single week. it would make it extremely hard. >> reporter: not just mimi, medicaid helps nearly a third of all children and covers fully half of the kids at children's hospitals. congressman michael burgess is a physician and a big backer of programs to train pediatric specialists but with medicaid, he says, we're facing sufficient choices t. is going to require more money. that more money is going to have to come from somewhere.

that z that mean a lessening of benefits for people currently on the program or an equalling out of the distribution of those. when you have a finite number of resources and expanding pool of people that need to be served, something is going to give somewhere along the line. >> these budget negotiations that you're hearing about involve hard choices and lots of numbers but there are real people behind those numbers like mimi and like max. coming up, a controversial decision affecting workers who say they got sick, extremely sick in some cases, after they rushed to help at the world trade center site on 9/11. we'll see what they're trying to do about it, that's next. you name it. i've tried it. but nothing's helped me beat my back pain. then i tried this. it's salonpas. this is the relief i've been looking for. salonpas has 2 powerful pain fighting ingredients that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told me it's the only otc pain patch approved for sale

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you know... ♪ we're not magicians ♪ we can't read your mind ♪ ♪ read your mind ♪ we need your questions ♪ each and every kind ♪ every kind ♪ will this react with my other medicine? ♪ ♪ hey, what are all these tests even for? ♪ ♪ questions are the answer ♪ yeah ♪ oh there's a ruling that angered manufacture the people who worked at the twin tower site on or after 9/11. the man in charge of the fund to help people said it would not pay compensation for cancer treatment. he says there's no established link. i've been tracking the health of first responders in this

year-long investigation. i spoke with a former detective of the new york city police department who was one of the first responders right after the attacks. four years later he was diagnosed with a stage three lymphoma, a type of cancer. if there was a study that came out tomorrow, ernie, that said we now know people getting sick at ground zero had nothing to do with the environment, how would that make you feel? >> well, i would have to say it would be a total lie. because any doctors i've spoken to, even nurses, they all say the same thing. it's definitely related. we're getting so many rescue workers in here. >> you hear that sentiment quite a bit as we've been investigating this, talking with doctors, talking with searchers who do suspect a cancer connection. something they're racing to sort out to see if they can get the right help for people who are sick, even dying, right now. see the full investigation,

"terror in the dust: 9/11" in a few more weeks, set to run september 11th. now my life's dream, go to cnn.com/sanjay to find it. this is what you'll find. scroll up here. you have a life stream. you find my various tweets, videos, blogs, podcasts. this entire show, for example, you could find right there by clicking podcasts, photos we've had over the years as well. sometimes when you go through here, you'll find videos from documentaries that we've done, interviews, some of our best interviews. find all these things in one specific location now. now, some of the photos are particularly interesting. things you're not going to see on tv, behind the scenes sort of things. for example, if you click on the photos specifically here and scroll up, this is haiti, for example. you'll see some of the behind the scenes footage and pictures from haiti. this is an interview that i did

with president perval. lots of stories that you're yoopgs not going to find television. see candid interviews with our fit nation athletes, candid interviews. here i am with sharon stone. check it out, cnn.com/sanjay. after the break we'll show you two aspiring stories ever overcoming the nearly impossible. a college football player who didn't let cancer stop him from his dream. he really did achieve them. and a motocross racer whose paralysis could not keep him from racing. stay with us. eeno tinted moistu. ♪ with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced. i don't always have time to eat like i should. and the more i focus on everything else, the less time i have to take care of me.

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we have a new finding from researchers who are studying head injuries, something we've been reporting on quite a bit. we know repeated hits to the head, for example, from football or boxing can cause a type of lasting brain damage. take a look there. it's called cte. on the left is a normal brain. on the right is a cte impacted

brain. this is important. this week researchers at the university of california davis figured out a way to specifically identify this type of damage and tell it apart from similar conditions like alzheimer's. it's not going to help living patients, necessarily. it can only be detected after death. these researchers say it's an important first step. we'll stay on top of that. last year we told you about mark herzlich, in 2008 he was diagnosed with bone cancer. after months of chemotherapy and radiation, last year he got himself back on the field. just this week, he got some pretty big news. he has signed on to play with the new york giants, the nfl. competition is also a way of life for doug henry, a four-time national motocross champion. he's been riding bike since 4 years old. at age 38 he had an devastating accident during practice which

left him paralyzed. you know what, that wasn't enough to keep him off the track. doug henry's racing career has taken him to incredible heights and devastating lows. he's been inducted into the american motorcycle association's hall of fame and won dozens of medals and trophies over the years. incredible heights and devastating lows. he's been inducted into the american motorcycle association's hall of fame and won dozens of metals and trophies over the years. look closely, you'll see this bike is modified with a bar and strap that help him stay on. that's because four years ago the unthinkable happened. and he was paralyzed. >> when i hit the wall between the bike, you know, i was stuck between the bike, you know, it was the end. it was the end for me. it was all over. >> henry's love affair with racing began when he was 4.

at 15 he entered his first race, had a midair collision and broke his arm. after turning pro at the age of 20 he had another bad accident and broke his back for the first time, but he recovered. two years later he was back on the track. there were more injuries. over 200 serious crashes, but he always walked away. until march 4th, 2007. he lost control on a corner during practice. >> i knew it was over. i just -- everything. just dancing. i wasn't much of a dancer. but i knew i wasn't going to be. i thought about all the things that we couldn't do or wouldn't be able to do together. >> it got worse. two weeks later his wife stacy was diagnosed with breast cancer. together they got through it. henry is partially paralyzed from the waist down. but it hasn't stopped him from competing. he's modified a snowmobile and dirt bike to race in x game competitions designed for disabled athletes and he's winning races in his new sport. henry hopes he can motivate others, whose lives have suddenly taken a detour and help them get back to doing what they

love. >> i try to do as much as i can now and enjoy the day, just try to get the most out of my life. >> story of achieving seemingly the impossible, overcoming significant obstacles there. good luck, doug henry. coming up a new challenge for me and my fellow triathletes. a spill in the river getting scary. one week to go. that story straight ahead. stay with us. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis.

i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. good job girls. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [clucking] [clucking]

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as we're getting ready to dive in for next week's swim, part of the new york city triat lon, news out more than 200 million gallons of raw sewage

discharged right into the hudson river. that's like 275 high school swimming pools full of raw sewage. this occurred after a fire in one of the new york city waste water treatment plants. the city has been testing the waters on a daily basis and the results aren't good. they were forced to shut down several beaches and rivers but hoping it's going to be safe in time for our swim next week. dirty waters are not dampening anyone's excitement and joining me one of our six viewers joining me at the race, nina, who told us yesterday she literally had to put books on her head to keep herself grounded she's so excited about this. you look fantastic, first of all. you really look great. >> thank you, i feel great, sanjay. >> when we first met you, you said 58 was the new 28 and some people thought that's just a slogan, but at 58 you're blowing some of these younger guys now out of the water with your training. how do you feel about your training overall?

>> my training has just gone great. i have been able to accomplish all of the goals that i've had for it, and i have done a river swim, i've been practicing in the pool. i'm ready. i'm ready for everything. >> what's the secret here? i know at one point even you had some doubts. it's an audacious task to take on. people watching right now think, what is -- what can you share with people that got you through this? >> well, when we first started, i couldn't run a mile, really, barely, without walking a little bit of it, and it's just because that my training has been very slow and incremental and careful and very steady, six or seven days a week, that i've been able to build up very gradually my endurance. people will look at me and say i can't believe you can run six miles. well, i couldn't automatically run six miles. i had to build up to it. it's the same with the biking. i was not real comfortable with the biking at first.

i've fallen an lot off my bike. but the sunday before last i took a 50-mile bike ride. >> wow. i can't wait to see you at the beginning of the race and then certainly at the end of the race as well. looking forward to seeing you there. >> thank you. i can't wait to see you either, sanjay. have a safe trip. >> fingers crossed. last but certainly not least, kendra kenly has been focused on making lifestyle changes. will last long after the triathlon ends and joins me now from chicago. last time i think we worked out together was in hawaii. i know a big part of that workout time for you is just building up some confidence. you hadn't done a lot of these things before. how is your confidence level overall as you're approaching this? >> i think it's drastically improved since hawaii. i mean my longest bike ride today was -- or to date has been 30 miles. >> wow. >> i've been able to swim a mile in lake michigan and been able to walk, run six miles necessary for the race. >> that's fantastic. i mean that's -- you're already -- sounds like you're ready right now. that's really great. >> yeah. yeah.

>> a lot of people, you know, were curious about you and, you know, watch you and think, could i do this myself? what would you tell people? anybody who wants -- you never done this before, about to do a triathlon, a challenging physical event. can anybody do this, do you think? >> i think for the most part. i mean, i think it's just taking it one step at a time and really just setting realistic goals for yourself. i think that's very important. >> for us, as you know, we talked a lot about this, the goal is really about fitness, about creating a more healthy america. for you, you said one of the things you wanted to do was try to lose some weight. that was a priority for you. i mean, you look great. how much weight have you lost and more importantly, how do you feel? >> i've lost about 30 pounds right now. and i feel a lot better. i feel a lot stronger than i did when i started in january and february. >> well, we'll be right there at the start line together, jump into the hudson together and congratulate each other at the end. i'm really proud of you.