Re: Former court-at-law judge Gebhardt dies of cancer (mold)

[Guest guest]

I wonder if she had been okay had she not moved

back home? Can't tell but the story is telling

of inadequate health care help also, such as all

the antibotics she took, doesn't mention

antifungals but then perhaps report is

inaccurate.

--- tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

> Former court-at-law Judge Gebhardt

> dies of cancer

[Guest guest]

I wish they gave more information also, unfortunately obits don't go

into too much detail. I'm surprised this one mentioned mold at all.

Sharon C.

>

> > Former court-at-law Judge Gebhardt

> > dies of cancer

>

[Guest guest]

Remembering:

Judge Shay Gebhardt was petite, full of life, always wore stunning

brightly colored outfits with delightful matching rhinestone studded

granny glasses.

The Bexar Courthouse where she worked as a judge for years was a

major source of mold. During a courthouse renovation her courtroom

was temporarily relocated to the basement where leaks had been

continually neglected for years. It was at that time Shay became so

very ill.

Several years after surviving the ordeal from mold exposure in the

courthouse and her home, Shay grew more challenging to county

commissioner and threatened (in 2001) to publicly express her

concerns for the health of other county employees, and the general

public because of the continuing leaks and mold in the courthouse.

To appease Judge Gebhardt, and out of fear of public exposure county

commissioners announced a " Historical Renovation " of the courthouse.

A local TV station reporter Ralston got wind of what was

really going on and did an investigative story, which included

taking mold samples that confirmed high levels of toxic molds. The

report was outstanding and a big embarrassment to county officials.

Courthouse employees and citizens of Bexar County will never forget

Judge Shay Gebhardt, the spunky little judge that got important

things done, including a " Historical Renovation. "

Judge Shay Gebhardt is truly missed.

Thanks for reminding me,

Janet Ahmad, President

HomeOwners for Better Building

http://www.hobb.org

210-402-6800

Judge near death - Mold in courthouse

Test results prove dangerous mold in Bexar County

Courthouse According to one county judge, it's mold that nearly cost

her life. " When I first started

getting sick, they were remodeling this courtroom, " said County

Court at Law No. 3 Judge Shay Gebhardt.

http://www.hobb.org/index.php?

option=com_content & task=view & id=1240 & Itemid=197

=====================================================

Judge near death - Mold in courthouse

Wednesday, 01 August 2001

Test results prove dangerous mold in Bexar County Courthouse

According to one county judge, it's mold that nearly cost her

life. " When I first started getting sick, they were remodeling this

courtroom, " said County Court at Law No. 3 Judge Shay Gebhardt.

KENS 5 Eyewitness News

Test results prove dangerous mold

in Bexar County Courthouse

By Ralston

KENS 5 Eyewitness News

Web Posted : 08/01/2001 6:00 PM

It's a place where more than 500,000 people pass through each year.

Samples taken from under a mail room cabinet (top) and some tiled

areas were sent to Texas Tech University to be analyzed. Results

confirmed the mold is stachybotrus.

KENS Photos

Further coverage

Mold a growing concern

KENS 5 Video

Judge's complaints

However, something in the Bexar County Courthouse could be making

people sick.

According to one county judge, it's mold that nearly cost her life.

" When I first started getting sick, they were remodeling this

courtroom, " said County Court at Law No. 3 Judge Shay Gebhardt.

" So, they moved me downstairs into the basement. "

Hidden below the steps of one of San 's most historic

buildings lies the heart of the Bexar County Courthouse, the

basement.

" The basement is a deadly place in this courthouse, " Gebhardt said.

The basement is home to a few courtrooms, a mailroom and the vital

statistics area, which houses marriage and death records, among

other files.

Gebhardt said it also houses something that made her sick.

About six years ago, Gebhardt was working out of a basement office

when she first developed the symptoms of what she thought was a

common cold.

" Finally it got to the point when I could not drive a car, I could

not stay awake. I was sleeping 24 hours a day. I could not wake up, "

she recalled.

Doctors say the judge was slowly slipping into a coma.

Samples from various areas in the basement were taken and sent to a

Texas Tech University lab in Lubbock. The lab tests confirmed the

mold is stachybotrus.

Stachybotrus (pronounced stacky botris) is a greenish-black, slimy

mold that thrives on water and construction materials.

Along with minor symptoms attributed to most molds, such as runny

noses, sneezing and allergy-like symptoms, stachybotrus also is

believed to produce toxins that can cause memory or mood changes, or

flu-like reactions such as fatigue, sore throats and headaches.

" It's in the walls, it's in the floors, the furniture, it's

everywhere, " Gebhardt said.

While some researchers have been skeptical, others, however, have

linked stachybotrus to asthma, as well as sick-building and chronic-

fatigue syndromes, like Gebhardt?s.

The mold began getting national attention in 1997 after researchers

in Cleveland linked it to serious and occasionally fatal lung

bleeding in 21 infants who lived in inner-city homes with water

damage from flooding or plumbing leaks.

Dr. Straus, a stachybotrus expert at Texas Tech, said while it

may appear to be only in certain rooms, the mold releases spores

that can spread quickly.

" Any amount of stachybotrus growing in a building concerns us, " he

said.

The results were taken to Bexar County Judge Wolff.

" It certainly concerns me, " the new county judge said as he toured

the basement where samples were taken.

Many believe the mold may have moved in after one of many basement

floods.

Wolff said he plans to move anyone who is currently having problems

out of the basement.

He also plans to call in a professional company to find out the

extent of the problem.

Gebhardt, who now offices on the 1st floor, hopes to have the

problem fixed before more people get sick.

" You pray to God you will go into remission and you will stay in

remission, but there's no guarantee and there's no cure. "

08/01/2001