Ann Romney visits Cincinnati Children's, and opens up about MS

CINCINNATI - Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, was in Cincinnati for a fundraiser Tuesday night.  She stopped the next day at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, where she talked with me about her husband, her experience in the spotlight, and how much she has learned from Multiple Sclerosis.

Her speech at the Republican National Convention was a huge moment for Ann Romney, who had never used a Teleprompter, and never spoken to such a large audience.

So what was it like at that moment?
 
"It was exciting," Ann said. "I felt the awesomeness of the responsibility of millions of Americans counting on us."

I asked Mrs. Romney what her husband's reaction was.

"He was like, 'Oh, great, now what am I supposed to do? This was so great,'" she said.

"He was just so complimentary, and then he said things like, 'Did you ever in your wildest dreams think you'd be doing something like this?' And the answer is, 'No, never.'"

I asked Ann why there seemed to be tears in her sons' eyes that night.

"They knew what a struggle I've been through. They'd seen me down and really sick. They'd seen the resurgence of energy. It was just pride," she said.

On the campaign trail Ann is reaching out to women, as she did in her convention speech.

"I think women are hit the hardest by the economy, and I wanted to let women know I hear their voices, too," Ann said.

Critics say, how can the Romneys relate to the average person, to the struggles of a working family?

"For my life, it's not been a financial struggle, it's been a health struggle, and the health struggle I went through flattened me, and left me without hope," Ann said. "My tough times may not have been like your tough times, but MS has been a teacher. It taught me humility, patience, compassion, and I'm grateful for my teacher. I don't love it! But I've had personal growth from that."