Steamboat Pilot & Today

Routt County Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak's days are filled with physical therapy, medications and phone conferences.

But Stahoviak, who was flown to a Denver hospital because of life-threatening kidney failure and infections in mid-December, said she's happy to be at her Oak Creek home and that she is improving.

"I'm feeling pretty good," Stahoviak said. "Just being at home, I think, is healing."

Stahoviak returned to Routt County on Jan. 20 after more than a month in Denver hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Her mother, from Washington, is helping Stahoviak recover.

On Feb. 4, Stahoviak will return to Denver to have one of four knee operations to replace her knee implants and fight the infection in her knees. She said she likely would have one operation a month for the next four months.

An ideal timeline would be to have one operation at the start of each month and be mostly recovered by early June, she said. She'll have a better idea of what that timeline could be after she goes through her first surgery.

Each operation and a recovery period will take place in Denver.

During the first set of operations, both knee implants will be replaced with temporary implants that Stahoviak said should make her more mobile. If the weather cooperates and isn't too snowy or icy, she said she should be able to get outside.

The second set of operations will be to replace Stahvoiak's knees with permanent implants.

In the meantime, Stahoviak said she plans to stay up to date with county business through conference phone calls. This week, Stahoviak participated in all of the county discussions held Tuesday, as well as a few other board meetings.

Issues she's especially interested in keeping up with include developments with the county's new justice center and continued work on the South Routt Community Economic Assessment.

The conference calls are working well, she said, though she'd prefer to be present at the meetings.

"It's just great to feel all that warmth and all that love," she said. "Just keep those positive thoughts and prayers coming. I think we're in the homestretch, but it's going to be kind of a long time yet."

Stahoviak, who is this year's chairwoman for the Routt County Board of Commissioners, announced earlier this month that she would run for another term as county commissioner in November.

-- To reach Susan Bacon, call 871-4203

or e-mail sbacon@steamboatpilot.com