It was not the kind of news that Louisiana legislators wanted to start their day with. The news? Former Governor Kathleen Blanco is now under hospice care. Senator Gerald Long informed legislators of that fact yesterday before the daily prayer and the beginning of the legislative session.

Blanco, a New Iberia native, served as the state's first woman governor from 2004 to 2008. She was governor during the time when the state was hit by two devastating hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, in 2005.

According to reports, former President George W. Bush phoned Blanco when news of her deteriorating health was reported. Bush was in the White House during the times of those deadly hurricanes in 2005.

In addition to her time as Governor, She was elected twice to the state Legislature, twice to the Public Service Commission and served twice as lieutenant governor.

In 2011 Blanco revealed she had been diagnosed with ocular melanoma. The disease returned in 2017 and just recently Blanco publically addressed her health issues and her prognosis saying that she understood there was "no escape" from the deadly diagnosis. 

 

 

 

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