Mold delays homecoming for man paralyzed by illness

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Mold delays homecoming for man paralyzed by illness

Rocky Mountain News - Denver,CO

R. Nickerson © The Rocky

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_57

24456,00.html

Nine months after Durango native Slade was paralyzed by a rare

bacterial infection, the 44-year-old was looking forward to

returning to his family home in San Diego.

He flew back last week - only to have his would-be homecoming

waylaid by mushrooming mold.

" It was a nightmare, " his wife, Kathy, said Tuesday.

Slade, 44, is breathing on a ventilator after collapsing Jan. 2 from

a mysterious illness. It was later diagnosed as a bacterial

infection that attacked his spinal cord and left the once-star

athlete a quadriplegic.

On Oct. 8, one day before the Colorado College graduate was to

return home from Craig Hospital, workers found mold - including an

actual mushroom - spewing out of a bathroom that's being renovated.

" I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me,' " Kathy Slade said.

She and the couple's infant daughters, who were born two days after

their father collapsed, were able to return to the house last week.

But the threat of moldy air was considered too dangerous for Slade

because he breathes on a ventilator.

Chances are good he will be able to come home Thursday, Kathy Slade

said. Meantime, he and a battery of caregivers have been living in a

nearby hotel, while she juggles the twin babies and a myriad of

daily details.

" I live by chocolate these days, " she quipped.

Until now, the question of " home " has been the one bright spot in a

very dark year.

While Slade underwent rehabilitation at Craig Hospital, his family

was able to stay free of charge in Bill and Jeannie Ritter's home,

which is located a few blocks from Craig.

While he serves in office, the governor and his family are leasing

their personal home to Craig patients at a below-market rate.

During that time, Slade was fitted with a shunt to drain spinal cord

fluid. The hope is that over six months, the procedure will begin to

ease his paralysis.

Slade's short-term goal was simple - which made the latest challenge

all the more difficult.

When the mold was found a day before his return, Kathy Slade said

she told him, " 'Hon, I think you should stay at Craig.' He

said, 'I'm coming home.' He just wanted to get home. "

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