A Twist Of Fate

[Guest guest]

03/01/2006

A Twist Of Fate

KELOLAND TV - Sioux Falls,SD

http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail2820.cfm?Id=0,46390

If anyone was to learn a lesson from last summer's Legionnaire's

outbreak in Rapid City, you'd expect it to be someone from Rapid

City. But in an odd twist of fate, there is word tonight that Rapid

City lawmaker, Tom Hennies may have contracted Legionnaire's during

the Legislative session in Pierre.

Tom Hennies has made news for battling criminals as the former Rapid

City Police Chief. He's making news tonight, however, thanks to his

recent battle with pneumonia.

This session was going to hold special meaning for Representative

Tom Hennies because he knew it would be his last because of terms

limits. But these days, he's more likely to remember it not as his

last session, but as his Legionnaire's session. Hennies says, I'd

sweat at night a d get up and go all day. When I got the chills, I'd

get back in bed and get warmed up. "

Hennies decided to tough it out with the help of a humidifier in his

Pierre hotel room. But after almost a week and feeling even worse,

he decided to heed his colleague's warnings and head to the

hospital. Hennies says, I was in bad shape and had I gone home to my

motel like I thought, there's no doubt in my mind, and the doctors

have said, I would have died in my sleep that night. "

Hennies admits he's been using the same humidifier during

legislative sessions for the past few years. He also admits this one

was loaded with mold. " I suppose had I read the directions it would

have said 'keep this cleaned out with Clorox' or put a disinfectant

in it when you add the water. But who reads the directions? "

What Hennies didn't know then, but knows only too well now is that

without proper cleaning, home humidifiers are just as likely to

breed the bacteria that can cause Legionnaire's as say a restaurant

fountain. " my friend Jim Shaw here in Rapid City had Legionnaires'

Disease and it just came to mind that oftentimes you can't

differentiate between the two unless you test for it. "

Hennies is back home in Rapid City tonight and feeling good thanks

to powerful antibiotics. He says it will be about five days before a

second round of tests definitively confirms his' as a case of

Legionnaire's Disease.

For More Information on Legionnaires' Disease, Click on the Links

Below:

South Dakota Department of Health

Centers for Disease Control

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