Les

Les is at Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis. He's been there since Monday. He's been growing gradually weaker over the last three months. He had a bunch of blood tests last month at OHSU that didn't reveal anything significant. He talked to his doctor in Salem last Thursday or Friday and she didn't say it was urgent. Les wanted to wait to come in to the Benton County Health Department on Monday. I called at 8 a.m. and they made an appointment for him at 3 p.m. When we got there, there wasn't an appointment available but someone talked to us and told us we should go to the emergency room at Good Samaritan so we did. I'm sure glad we did.

Everyone at Good Samaritan Hospital has been so nice and are doing everything they can to figure out what's wrong. He's had every test in the book with specialists to monitor and consult. He's now on dialysis, which was a shock. He had acute kidney failure but they don't know the cause yet. He's had an EKG, eco cardiogram, CT scan, ultra sound, and yesterday he went for an MRI because they wonder if he had a stroke. He's been through a difficult time. I've been there every day for hours to see him. Yesterday, we played a short game of canasta but he wasn't able to continue. He's ordering his own meals and having fun with that. He feels like he's on a cruise ship without the rudder.

He's getting much better and stronger. When he comes home, he'll concentrate on getting well, follow dietary restrictions, and do what he wants. We haven't found out yet what caused the problems in the first place. It's a medical mystery so far but everyone is doing everything they can to figure it out. We're waiting to get medical records faxed to Good Samaritan from OHSU and Benton Health Department to help the doctors. Everyone is working hard to find answers.

I'm worried about what the cost of all this care and if we will lose our home and be booted out on the street. At 61, I don't want to live under a bridge or on the street. I sure hope President Obama gets the health care system fixed so there is free health care for everyone just like there is in Canada and England and the rest of Europe. Emphasis should be on prevention and no one should have to go without medical care.