Update – I got an email from the family – Jim died last night.
That was the call I got this week. Jim Weatherred, after battling both Listeria and Multiple Myeloma, has called in Hospice so he can die with dignity surrounded by friends and family. Jim just turned 60 and has been married to Diana for nearly 40 years. Colorado is their home. They have three children; Julie, 37, Jennifer, 31 and Jim, 29. Jim’s Listeriosis struck him in August 2011 while he was undergoing treatment for Multiple Myeloma. He was hospitalized for months due to Listeria. His Multiple Myeloma treatment was delayed as he struggled with complications due to eating a cantaloupe. His medical bills to fight Listeria were nearly $600,000.
Jim likely has only days. I wish both he and his family peace.
When Jim dies, he will join two other of my clients who died recently; Rodney DeHerrera and Dimas Nunes. Coincidently, like Jim, both Rodney and Dimas were Colorado residents and were customers of King Sooper, Freshpack, Frontera, Jensen Farms and Primus too.
These men join other members of the largest foodborne death toll in the United States in 100 years. Some died within days or weeks of contracting Listeria:
Sandra Antle – Colorado
Elaine Babcock – Louisiana
William Beach – Oklahoma
Vernon Christiansen – New Mexico
George Drinkwalter – Nebraska
Rene Gaxiola – New Mexico
Frances Gilbert – Louisiana
Hazel Jacobs – Colorado
Marie Jones – Texas
Sharon Jones – Colorado
Michael Nimrod – Colorado
William Pumphrey – Missouri
John Riffle – Missouri
Lois Tufly – Colorado
David Weimer – Kansas
Clarence Wells – Maryland
Florence Wilcox – New Mexico
Others lingered painfully for months before they died:
Michael Hauser – Colorado
Betty Mills – Colorado
Jerome Onsager – Montana
Paul Schwarz – Missouri
Michael Segatti – Colorado
The losses to these families are incalculable. Medical costs alone were nearly $10,000,000.
Our food safety system should be embarrassed, and King Sooper, Freshpack, Frontera, Jensen Farms and Primus, and others, should be ashamed.