Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center in Tigard launched its Save Our Veterans Program earlier this year and has already treated a number of patients through the program.
Below is a thank you letter from one such patient: Robert Gustafson, Commander, Tualatin Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 3452.
"Today I am thankful, because I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm blessed with a wonderful wife, five grown children and at 63, in relatively good health.
While serving in Vietnam, I dodged enemy rockets for two years without suffering serious physical injury. I was lucky then.
Last June, I tripped and fell, damaging my shoulder. With excruciating pain and only limited healthcare benefits, I wondered if my luck had run out. But, when I heard about the Save Our Veterans free surgery and aftercare program offered by Dr. Richard Edelson and the Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center, I knew that everything would be okay. Today, I am a lucky guy -- nearly recovered and very grateful, and should have no trouble slicing the turkey or tossing a football this Thanksgiving.
If the V.A. is overwhelmed, it's great that other places are helping out those who have served our country."