Health Insurance Rally

By Michele Munz

Of the Post-Dispatch

05/01/2005



Kitty Loepker stood at a rally Sunday for those lacking medical insurance and held a sign with a picture of her smiling brother in a purple sweat suit. It read: "My brother deserved health care too."



Dale Loepker, 40, stayed away from doctors because he didn't have health insurance. He had white, swollen hands and feet for a week before finally going into the emergency room.



His blood pressure had dropped drastically; he was stabilized and sent home only to be back in two days later with severe abdominal pain, his sister says. A blood test showed he had low potassium.



Again, he was given a prescription and sent home