Bev Osborne

If you ask Bev Osborne, black mold issues are something everyone should be aware of and know how to combat. Eight years ago, Bev's husband Danny Keller stayed in a motel he did not realize was infested with the slimy, greenish-black substance. The motel addressed Dan's complaint of "a strange smell" by shampooing the carpet, which aggravated the problem and increased Dan's exposure to deadly toxins.

According to the Center of Disease Control, black mold is responsible for more than "100 cases of lung disorders". According to Bev, black mold was responsible for her otherwise healthy husband's eight year-long battle with hypersentivity pneumonitis.

Danny's ordeal began with flu-like symptoms in 2002. Three weeks later he ended up in the emergency room. They were told that within five years Danny would have to have a double lung transplant.

Although Bev has a graduate degree in sports management, she also has master credentials in caregiving. She not only cared for her husband, she also took in her ailing mother, both of which took a toll on her. A few months after her mother died, Bev was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. It was Palm Sunday, 2007.

"When Danny was admitting me, they noticed that his hands were blue," Bev said. They spent that night together in the same room in the emergency room. He was later transferred to intensive care while she was admitted to the pulmonary floor. Bev was discharged on Easter Sunday. Danny came home the next day. One month later, Bev suffered a heart attack.

In February 2008, with high hopes, Danny and Bev moved to Durham where they ended up living in a hotel room for five months for the preparation, operation and recovery of his double lung transplant at Duke Medical Center. It's hard to believe this exhausted couple had to jump through so many arduous medical and emotional hoops only to hear "these lungs aren't any good" or "the lungs went to someone else," which happened three times before Danny finally received his transplant on April 24, 2008.

They came home on July 3, but spent the next two and a half years running back and forth to Duke, sometimes weekly. Unfortunately, Dan's journey ended this past September when he passed away with friends, family and Bev at his side in his home in Rose Hill. Bev offers much praise and appreciation for friends and family who supported them during their time of need.

"I never heard Danny complain. Not once. Not even at the end," Bev said. "He, in fact, made me laugh." Bev has no doubt her husband is better off. She said, "Danny is with the Lord. His suffering is behind him and he's resting in peace."

Just two days after Dan's passing, Bev, an avid of rescuer animals, found a baby squirrel on their property in dire need of care. With broken legs and no mother in sight, Bev said with a smile, "Danny knew that in his absence I would need something to do and something to take care of." The grandchildren, who were with her at the time, named the squirrel Poppy, Danny's grandpa name.

Since, Bev has all but done away with Fox News and television in general. She has replaced it all with soothing inspiration. Soft ambient music fills Bev's home as she goes about caring for animals, exercising and staying connected to friends. Though she greatly misses her husband, Bev chooses to trust God and move forward. She teaches gymnastics to young children, ages three through seven, at six different after school programs. She sings in her church choir and teaches children's choir to five and six year olds.

Plus, there are four rescue cats and Poppy (the squirrel) who depend on Bev for tender loving care and attention.

Lovingly, Daniel Kline Keller's ashes are buried on the bluff at the Church of the Cross facing the exact place where he and Bev said their vows.

Up Close:

Hometown: Charleston, West Virginia
Sport Growing Up: Springboard diving
Grandma Name: Nona
Reading: Free at Last by Tony Evans; Walking with the God Who Cares by Catherine Martin
Advice for Caregivers: Pray a lot. Get help.