To Live and Die

Thanks for letting people know the facts about the 5P21 clinic. My son lost his private insurance and had to go through the clinics for medical care for AIDS.

County-USC is filthy and overcrowded with heartless employees who are supposed to be caring for the sick and dying. At 5P21, there were some there who seemed to care, but in general it was an unfeeling group. The knowledge was there but certainly wasn’t used in a very effective way. Doctors were changed many times, records were misplaced; I had the feeling no one really knew what was going on.

The onset of a serious virus had my son in County-USC emergency room, then to the red blanket room and finally to a ward for five days. After the experience, I said, “No more.” I brought him home with medication, and we did the best we could. When he became so ill that he could no longer be cared for at home, he entered Loma Linda Medical Center and later died in a clean, loving, caring hospital.

If this letter sounds bitter, it’s because I am bitter. From the onset of my son’s illness, I knew he would die. But I had no idea how cruel the health system would treat him.

JOAN MOORE

Upland