Anthrax Cases Stir Painful Memories
dailynews.yahoo.com
By JAMES HANNAH, Associated Press Writer
Monday November 5 2:18 AM ET
LIMA, Ohio (AP) - After Dennis Friend and his wife had a baby 25 years ago in California, a rose was placed on the altar of his parents' church to celebrate the occasion.
A few weeks later another rose appeared - that one marked Friend's death from inhalation anthrax.
``It was so sudden,'' recalled his mother, Josephine Friend. ``Dennis was in the bathtub taking a bath, and he got paralyzed on one side. We got the call at 2 o'clock Thursday morning that he was ill, that he wasn't going to make it.'' He died two days later.
Friend, a 32-year-old artist, had been exposed to anthrax while weaving with goat's hair yarn imported from Pakistan.
He died in January 1976. Friend's death was the last case of inhalation anthrax reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention until last month, said Lisa Swenarski of the CDC.
The latest cases have stirred up painful memories for Mrs. Friend, 85, and her husband, Clarence, 88.
``It all came back,'' said Mrs. Friend. ``We've gone over it a million times. This has just renewed it all.''
Well-worn scrapbook clippings and photographs of their son compete for attention on the couple's kitchen table. One photo reveals a handsome, bushy-haired man proudly holding his newborn daughter.
Friend graduated from Ohio University and went to Northern Illinois University for his master of arts degree.
``His wife decided to take up weaving to pass the time while he was in school,'' said Mrs. Friend.
Her son and his wife, Kathy, then got jobs teaching art at Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo in California. They also opened a gallery and began selling their weavings.
``They did fabulous work and did really well,'' said Mrs. Friend, adding that the couple's wall hangings appeared in libraries and at colleges.
As they go over the memories, Friend's parents beam with pride. But their mood changes when talk turns to anthrax and that fateful telephone call in January 1976.
``When we got to the hospital, they took us in,'' said Mrs. Friend. ``He was in isolation, and he was on a ventilator.''
Hospital officials would not let the couple come into contact with their son, who was isolated and treated as if anthrax was contagious even though it is not.
``We just saw him once, through glass. That was it,'' said Clarence Friend.
Mrs. Friend said doctors first diagnosed her son's case as the flu, but then determined it was anthrax. By the time he was admitted to the hospital, he was in late stages of the disease.
``They flew doctors in from the CDC,'' she said. ``They quarantined his gallery and their home. They put his wife and baby on antibiotics and some of his students.''
Kathy Friend, 55, of San Luis Obispo, said she was terrified.
``Basically, I was told you may be dead in three days. You better get your paperwork together,'' she said.
The couple's home and studio were sealed off. After anthrax spores were found on some of the yarn inside, the material was burned and the home sprayed with a formaldehyde solution. Kathy Friend didn't return to the home for six weeks.
She said she believes the case helped health officials learn better how to respond to anthrax.
``I'm saddened that the public is being placed in harm's way,'' she said of the latest cases. ``But I think it's targeted. I don't think a majority of people should be fearful.''
After Friend's death, health officials insisted his body be cremated.
``There were no ifs, ands or buts,'' said Friend's mother. ``After he was cremated, his wife took his ashes up in the airplane and put them in the ocean.'' |
