Many articles have been written about the heartless and devastating medical care cuts our current governor has forced upon the citizens of this state due his fiscal mismanagement and his attempts to prove nationally that he represents an exemplary model of the ideals espoused by his political party chiefs. His present plan includes the closing of hospitals, the curtailing of medical services at others, and the laying off of nurses and health care workers.
However, nothing written by media editors can express the emotional pain that those facing these atrocities must endure.
I found this letter in the Hammond Star which I think clearly delineates how the consumers of these services truly feel:
Dear Editor:
I will have no way of knowing for sure if this letter is printed because I am ashamed to say that sometimes I cannot always find change in my old pockets to buy the newspaper, but I still think a poor old crippled man may still have a voice in this great parish of Tangipahoa, and in America.
I have always been very proud of our parish and of the many good citizens in it. My whole family worked and farmed, and we lived all through hard times in Tangipahoa easily over 150 years.
My grandma died in my mother’s arms. My mother died in my arms. My mother’s younger sister died because of a ruptured appendix. She was like our only child that has never walked.
If there is one thing I learned in this life it is to fight for what is good, and what is right, and for whatever you love and cherish, and my family has always cherished Lallie Kemp Hospital.
Lallie Kemp is a fantastic hospital. It is a wonderful life-saving hospital. A lot of people in our parish are decent, sweet, kind people, and a lot of people cannot afford long trips to other hospitals to acquire hospital care. Convenience plays a large role in keeping thousands upon thousands of Tangipahoa Parish residents in health care because money does not grow on trees, and neither does gasoline.
People are on tight budgets. A lot of people are unfortunately depending on food stamps. Jobs and high-paying jobs are hard to find.I have always been very proud of our parish and of the many good citizens in it. My whole family worked and farmed, and we lived all through hard times in Tangipahoa easily over 150 years.
My grandma died in my mother’s arms. My mother died in my arms. My mother’s younger sister died because of a ruptured appendix. She was like our only child that has never walked.
If there is one thing I learned in this life it is to fight for what is good, and what is right, and for whatever you love and cherish, and my family has always cherished Lallie Kemp Hospital.
Lallie Kemp is a fantastic hospital. It is a wonderful life-saving hospital. A lot of people in our parish are decent, sweet, kind people, and a lot of people cannot afford long trips to other hospitals to acquire hospital care. Convenience plays a large role in keeping thousands upon thousands of Tangipahoa Parish residents in health care because money does not grow on trees, and neither does gasoline.
We need our hospital as badly as we need bread. North Oaks is a fantastic hospital, but we have to have Lallie Kenp hospital too. We need our charity hospital very much to continue to keep saving lives.
Our little charity hospital is beautiful, and the doctors, nurses, and staff, and everyone works hard in it. Everyone is polite, kind, and respectful to patients in it.
I am a very crippled man. I’ve got a piece of junk for a car. It just takes too much to keep everything repaired. I am not ashamed to say that I am poor as the driven hell, but I am still a man, and I would stand up or even crawl if I knew I could always do some good for our great hospital. I have two walking canes, one leg, and one foot that keeps me in agonizing pain, but I will tell you the truth like I said: I would crawl on my hands or knees for everything I love, and so I cherish our parish, and everything that is good in it.
May God bless everyone in Tangipahoa Parish, and God bless our hospitals for saving lives. Nothing is more important than saving lives and serving your country.
Cherish all that is dear to your heart. What else would God expect of us?
Always fight for Lallie Kemp. Fight for everything that is sacred in our parish that has brought comfort and love to our lives.
— Leon Joseph Lupo, Tickfaw
God bless you, Leon Joseph Lupo !
