Emil Mueller’s family seeks justice for him and all the victims of the Nebraska Outbreak
We are so grateful to Desarae Mueller-Fichepain, whose father’s story was featured last week in the article written by reporter Matthew Hansen. And we are grateful to Mr. Hansen, who we got to know when he joined us to take a tour of one of the four factories operated here in the state by our corporate colleagues BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.).
These exchanges, advocate to reporter and reporter to readers, are essential ones. Continued education and reeducation on proper injection safety is vital. What happened to Desarae’s dad, Mr. Emil Mueller, should not happen to anyone here in the United States—or, we think, anywhere in the world.
It is our honor to share the article, published in the Thursday, December 11, Omaha World-Herald. We thank Desarae, and all of the HONOReform advocates, for their openness, leadership and support.
Hansen: In massive hepatitis C outbreak in Fremont, the victims’ voices went unheard
Emil had fought off prostate cancer for a decade, battled it in the same steely way that he made it through each shift at Fremont’s Hormel plant. He clocked in at the plant each morning. He picked up his knife. He cleaved the fat off of giant, immovable slabs of ham.
Day after day. Year after year. No excuses. No complaining. That’s how Emil worked. That’s how he lived.
And then, in 2000 or 2001, Emil began to see the new oncologist in town, a doctor by the name of Tahir Ali Javed. He’s a nice guy, he told his daughter, Desarae.
But within months, Emil began to change. The color started to fade from his cheeks. His grit faded, too.
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