We can’t believe it’s almost been a year since we lost her. Mom had already gone through so much. She was one heck of woman. At 72 she was more energetic than anyone else we knew at her age. She loved life and loved her friends and family. She was an active part of the community through gardening, bird-watching, and spending time with the five of us and her four grandchildren.

Mom was a fighter. She had battled two bouts of lung and brain cancer and she had won. But in October of last year she checked into a short-term rehab care facility for the treatment of a relatively normal urinary tract infection. We planned to have her back to us by Christmas. Two days before her scheduled release, mom began to suffer minor breathing difficulties. She had also complained of extreme cramping and diarrhea. We were devastated and caught totally off-guard when doctors told us she had just hours to live as she was suffering from what they thought was a severe case of pneumonia. We lost her on December 21, 2008.

Nearly two weeks later, we couldn’t believe what we read in the newspaper. An unidentified Minnesota woman had recently died from eating peanut butter contaminated with salmonella.  Was this our mom? We contacted the Department of Health. It was mom. She had died not from pneumonia, but from salmonella in peanut butter. This couldn’t be happening.  Cancer couldn’t take us from her, but this could? We were hurt, betrayed, numb and outraged. Every emotion one could feel, we did.

In the months that followed we were contacted by S.T.O.P. or Safe Tables Our Priority. This foodborne illness prevention organization took us to DC with them on multiple occasions. They wanted us to tell mom’s story. And all five of us have.

By going to DC with other victim families we realized we were not alone in or grief or in our concern for improving the nation’s food supply. Many dedicated people have been working behind the scenes for years.  We now feel  like there are ways to make a difference and believe this could be the most important thing we are ever involved with. Despite the many road blocks, we have already managed to make change. But we aren’t done yet.  We plan to continue our fight in mom’s memory and we’ll do so for however long it takes. We’ve joined forces and become a part of S.T.O.P. and we’ve become a force to be reckoned with.

Please take a moment to help us reach our goal. All donations made our page will be matched (up to 10K) by Davidson's Safest Choice Eggs. That means your gift is worth double.

For Mom,

Vickie, Ginger, Jeff, Pat and Mike