PORT TOWNSEND — Seven-month-old twins Ceinna and Onyx Neidigh are fighting a potentially deadly respiratory virus that doctors say was contracted through exposure to black mold in a Port Townsend rental home.
Parents Clayton Neidigh, a chef at the Silverwater Cafe, and his partner, Barbara Hansen, a drug and alcohol counselor for the schools countywide, said their babies are being treated for respiratory syncytial virus at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Tacoma.
They have been there since December.
“It’s getting better,” Neidigh said Monday.
“They’re on the upswing. They’ve still got a cough. RSV is hitting hard this year, the doctor said.”
The illness has been costly for the couple, who between them have four other children.
“The only thing they have been able to give them is pure oxygen,” he said, and the cost of traveling to and from the hospital has cost them at least $1,000 more than their family budget can withstand.
That is why they have taken out an account in the twins’ names at Quimper Community Federal Credit Union, 1165 Landes Court in Port Townsend, behind the Safeway store where donations can be made.
Commutes to hospital
Neidigh, an Army veteran who served six years, said he frequently drives to and from the hospital so he can work.
The owners of the Silverwater Cafe have been highly flexible with the family’s predicament, he said, praising Alison Hero and her business partner, David Hero, for their kindness and understanding.
The family was in the middle of moving when the twins became ill.
Neidigh said Olympic Community Action Programs is helping them find a new rental, possibly putting up the family temporarily at the Bayshore Motel in Brinnon until a new home can be established.
Lung infection
Respiratory syncytial virus, which causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages, is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children.
In adults, it may only produce symptoms of a common cold, such as a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, mild headache, cough, fever and a general feeling of being ill.
But in premature babies and children with diseases that affect the lungs, heart, or immune system, RSV infections can lead to more serious illnesses.
Respiratory illness caused by RSV — such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia — usually lasts about a week, but some cases it may last several weeks.
Neidigh said the twins were so infected “that the doctor thought they have been in the house seven years.”
The couple’s other children are staying with family members, including a grandmother, he said.
“It’s been humbling and eye opening,” he said, adding that he did not feel right asking for financial help from others.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.