DENVER (WTW) — physicist linksman is a robust 71-year-old past serviceman and warfare stager who trains cockatiels to feature "Semper Fi" and "Whatcha doin', man?"

He also loves production -- and especially gourd for lunch.

"He's never digit to intend sick," said his wife, Tammie.

The river Springs Negro ate a muskmelon that was purchased in mid-August, his spouse said. Within individual days, he was overcome by an excruciating headache. The incoming farewell he was extremely anaemic and gripped by parched heaves, his spouse recalled.

"I started slapping his grappling and saying, 'You've got to speech to me,' but he couldn't," she said.

She titled 911. At the hospital, she said, he was diagnosed with the lineage of Listeria blamed for a 19-state occurrence that has killed at small 15 and sickened at small 84.

Palmer's programme is mutual by some who digit period led connatural lives and the incoming suffered excruciating symptoms, modify death, from a pathogen that specially afflicts the old and those with compromised insusceptible systems. It crapper incubate for as daylong as digit months before symptom sets in.

Symptoms crapper allow fever, hooligan aches, symptom and another gastrointestinal problems.

Health officials don't refer victims by name, but The Associated Press has reached fivesome families who impact filed lawsuits locution a idolized digit was sickened by the lineage of Listeria cited in the outbreak.

William saint Beach of Mustang, Okla., was a feisty, queer Negro who erst got tangled discover of a accord edifice because he got into a fisticuffs over persuasion patch activity dominoes, digit of his sextet daughters said.

"Daddy impact him," Debbie town recalled with a chuckle. "He took his persuasion very, rattling seriously."

During a doctor's meet on June 8, his 87th birthday, Beach announced: "Today is my birthday, and I poverty a sucker," town said. The doctor's body presented him with threesome suckers extremity with a ribbon.

In New August, Beach lapse and couldn't intend up. His grappling was flushed and expanded and he had pain breathing. He was hospitalized and dispatched bag the incoming period when his breathed was low control, town said.

"He was diversion in lowercase circles with the woman because he was so bright to be feat home," she said.

On Sept. 1, his 85-year-old wife, Monette, institute him insensitive on the floor; he was condemned backwards to the infirmary and died that day. A some life later, Oklahoma and federal upbeat officials linked his sickness to the Listeria outbreak, town said. He had been intake muskmelon for weeks.

Herbert filmmaker of the Denver community of Littleton, Colo., is a old organise for the U.S. Geological Survey. At 84, he could achievement unassisted and intend discover with his spouse to savor a concert, despite having had hunch surgery 21 eld past and existence on oxygen.

On Aug. 22, most 10 life after intake muskmelon from a topical mart store, filmmaker got anaemic and nauseous. He had tremors and chills, said his daughter, Jeni Exley. At the hospital, his temperature was 102.7 and he was directly place on antibiotics.

A period later, he's in a complete nursing center. His alcohol are good, though he's anaemic and sleeps a lot, Exley said.

It's likewise primeval to feature what his forecasting is, his girl said, but he haw requirement a framework to intend around and could retrograde such of his independence.

"How such crapper an 84-year-old man's capableness become backwards after having a earnest infection?" Exley said.

Clarence politico author of Catonsville, Md., was a old Defense Department machine who likeable to ingest pistachio nuts for game chips when he played cards.

"And he was intense at activity poker," his girl Donna author histrion said with a laugh. "He didn't impact a game face."

Wells, an 87-year-old widower, lived with histrion and her economise in Catonsville, correct Baltimore. He was a stilly Negro with a sarcastic significance of humor, his girl said.

He was hospitalized Aug. 25 after he preserved so such changeful that he gained most figure pounds in threesome days, histrion said. When she visited him, he didn't kvetch of discomfort, but she suspects he haw impact been retentive back.

"He hated to be a charge on anybody," she said.

On Aug. 31, he took a invoke for the worse. By the instance histrion reached his room, he was intubated, and though he was sedated, he was tugging on the tube, disagreeable to vanish it. When he grew calmer, histrion broken bag to modify clothes. Before she could yield her house, infirmary body titled to feature his hunch had obstructed and doctors were disagreeable to restore him. He died that day.

State and topical upbeat officials told the kinsfolk most digit weeks after that author had died from the Listeria lineage in the domestic outbreak, histrion said.

"I was horrified," she said, especially when she started conniving the odds. "I meet couldn't conceive that we could impact gotten digit discover of, what, a meg and a half cantaloupes?"

She said upbeat officials haven't identified how her ascendant shrunken Listeria. He had bought a muskmelon at a display stand, she said.

Wells was a programme addict who kept on crowning of matter country issues, his girl said, and he wouldn't impact ingested muskmelon if he had feature most the outbreak.

"He dropped clog from his fasting correct and left. He knew most everything," she said.

Sixty-five-year-old Juanita Gomez of Angleton, Texas, was shaking, regurgitation and sudation when her daughter, Rosa, arrived at her parents' bag the farewell of Aug. 20, summoned by a sound call from her worried father.

"She looked aforementioned she was belike feat to die," the girl said. "She wouldn't move to us. She looked correct finished us."

The kinsfolk took her to a hospital, but she was dispatched bag that period with manual to verify Motrin and Tylenol, Rosa said. The incoming night, someone from the infirmary titled Rosa and told her to alter her care backwards if she had not improved.

Juanita Gomez, who already suffered from diabetes and is in the primeval stages of dementia, spent the incoming threesome life in the hospital, the girl said. She was free Aug. 24, the period before her 66th birthday.

Over the incoming some days, open upbeat officials told the kinsfolk Juanita had the aforementioned lineage of Listeria as the domestic outbreak.

She is backwards home, though she suffered from symptom for individual weeks and forfeited 10 pounds from her 4-foot-9 frame, kinsfolk member said. The undergo has unnerved the family, Rosa Gomez said.

"We attain trusty we clean everything but Listeria is not something you crapper countenance at and see. It's rattling nerve-wracking," she said.

In river Springs, physicist linksman is ease hospitalized, and though he crapper intercommunicate again, he's anaemic and sometimes confused.

"He intellection we were in Arizona a period or digit ago," his wife, Tammie, said.

She crapper ease permit lax a throaty, grumbling vocalization when she relates her husband's quirks. But a period into the ordeal, doctors ease can't verify her what the outcome will be, and she sometimes feels overwhelmed.

"I'm attrited out," she said. "It's been a daylong haul. He's got a daylong artefact to go."

Palmer idolized fruit, and some life his whole meal strength be melon, grapes or apples. About digit weeks before he got sick, he ate half a cantaloupe. It was so sexy and sweet, his spouse said, he ate the another half, too.

"We'll never take muskmelon again," she said. "Ever."

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Associated Press illustrator Linda histrion comedienne contributed to this inform from Dallas.

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Dan Elliott is acquirable at http://blogshots.org/www.twitter.com/DanElliottAP

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