Posted on: Friday, September 6, 2002

Congresswoman Mink down with chicken pox

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink was in stable condition last night at Straub Clinic & Hospital suffering from the chicken pox.

Mink entered the hospital on Sunday and has struggled to shake the virus, said Straub spokeswoman Claire Tong. Mink, 74, is suffering from a high fever, Tong said.

"As you get older and you get chicken pox, you get really, really ill. It's actually a very serious thing when you're older. It's not like when you're young," Tong said. "She's having a hard time with the chicken pox."

Eugene Takemoto, Mink's brother, said he went to the hospital last night, but did not speak with his sister "because she wants to rest."

He said Mink's doctor also described her as being in stable condition. Takemoto said his sister was not in the hospital's intensive care unit.

"She's in the hospital resting and trying to get well," Takemoto said.

Mink is in the middle of a re-election campaign and faces Steve Tataii in the Sept. 21 Democratic primary.

Mink was first elected to Congress in 1964 and served in the House until she lost in a bid for the U.S. Senate in 1976. She remained in politics and served on the Honolulu City Council from 1983 to 1987. In 1990, she won a bid to return to Congress, where she has served since.