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Serious illness can’t stop local man

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Trent Cole holds a laser pointer with his right foot and uses it to point to letters on an alphabet board that he uses to communicate by spelling out words.
Kristin Anderson/Vail Daily


By Melanie Wong
Vail CO, Colorado
September 23, 2007



EDWARDS — Arrowhead resident Trent Cole is mostly paralyzed and cannot eat, breathe or speak on his own, yet he lives by the motto that he will never be healthier, so he will enjoy each day.

Cole, 66, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, three years ago. The disease slowly destroys nerve cells, often leaving patients unable to move, swallow or breathe.

The real estate businessman has spent much of his life quietly giving to the community and caring for others, family and friends said. But now, he has to let others take care of him, said his wife, Kathy.

But despite the prognosis, the Coles have chosen to embrace the disease as an opportunity and not let it close doors for them.

“When he was diagnosed, the doctors told him he had two choices — to give up or choose to live and get on with life. So he chose to continue to set goals and stay engaged,” Kathy Cole said.

He started right away, touring the world and learning about treatment options. He and his wife finished building their dream home in Arrowhead so they could be close to friends, relatives and his two daughters, Kim and Bonnie.

Cole still controls his property-management company from home. He can still move his right foot, so he communicates using a laser pointer between his toes to point at an alphabet board or by tapping a button that spells out words on a computer.

This is the perfect final exam for him, Cole said. The disease has taught him how to deal with his life better in the areas of control, trust and surrender, and he is still learning, he said.

“No matter what happens, there are so many gifts from ALS,” he said, spelling the words out. “I have time to rediscover my beliefs in God and learn more about myself.”
He paused a moment as his wife sat by his bed.

“We sure are having a great journey,” he said.

Giving back to the community
Trent Cole’s name can be found all over the valley, from a bench he donated behind Riverwalk in Edwards to the list of the Vilar Performing Arts Center’s founders.

He has been involved with numerous organizations, including the Huega Center, Eagle Valley Family Assistance, Bravo!, Vail Jazz, the Alpine Club and Emergency Family Assistance in Boulder.

“He’s a great asset to the community,” said longtime friend and Pepi’s owner Sheika Gramshammer. “If anything ever needed funding, you could go to Trent and Kathy. They never said ‘no’ to anybody.”

Trent Cole’s daughter, Bonnie, said her father instilled in her the importance of being a part of the community.

“He taught me that it’s not just about doing nice things but to love yourself as much as you can and be an exceptional person. He said it comes from the inside out, not the outside in,” she said.

He was engaging and fun in his approach to giving, which encouraged others to give, too, she said. At a Christmas party last year, he inspired an accountant who was the party’s Santa to join the board of Emergency Family Assistance.

“He had never really been involved with a charity, and then he ended up on the board. But that’s the kind of affect (Trent) had on people,” Bonnie Cole said.

Inspiring others
Friends and family say Trent Cole is still affecting people’s lives through the disease.

Brian Hutchinson, president of the Huega Center and Trent Cole’s physical therapist, said he has been awestruck by how the Coles are determined to work together and continue living life to the fullest, whether that meant maintaining relationships or maintaining Trent’s limb mobility.

“I’ve learned from Trent that you can’t take anything for granted. He lives for every minute, and I can see that now,” Hutchinson said. “Though you may lose certain components, there are other components to how you can grow spiritually and emotionally.”

Longtime friend and former Edwards resident Alvin Schonfeld, of Chicago, said his 15-year-old daughter, Jennifer, interviewed Trent Cole for a class project. At first, she was nervous to see someone so sick, he said.

“But once she realized how easy it was to be around him, she looked forward to interviewing him,” Schonfeld said. “She wrote volumes about the experience and took it to school with her. I think it really matured her.”

Still the same Trent
If it were not for Trent Cole’s positive approach to ALS, his health would not be so good, said his nurse Pat Hammon.

“He’s definitely got a sense of humor,” she said. Hammon, who said she leans left in her political views while Cole leans right, said he always teases her about watching the Bill O’Reilly show, which they watch together.

Gramshammer said Cole’s great attitude and good humor are still obvious.

“He was always smiling and loved to laugh. Even now, when he can’t do anything but lay there, I feel like he’s very happy to see me when I visit him. He’s just got a great spirit around him,” she said.

Friends said he was a great sportsman who loved golf, bike touring around the world and tennis.

“Friends want to remember Trent the way he was,” Kathy Cole said. “He’s still the same guy — he’s just trapped in this vessel that’s falling apart.”

His form of ALS is particularly fast-acting, she said, and his health had taken a downward dip around Christmas.

After a Christmas party where all his friends and family gathered to see him, he slept for four days, she said.

“We thought we had lost him,” she said. “But then he woke up and said, ‘What’s everyone doing here?’ We told him, and he just smiled and said, ‘Hell of a party.’”

She said that she and her husband see the time they have left as a gift.

“But the other side is watching the love of your life go down,” she said. “I try not to focus on that. We do the best we can to have fun and keep meaning. But this is a disease that doesn’t have hope.”

The disease will only continue to debilitate him, and he has outlived doctor’s expectations, but Trent Cole said he has never thought about giving up.

“Never,” he said. “I’m not ready to tip over yet.”

Staff Writer Melanie Wong can be reached at 748-2928 or mwong@vaildaily.com.
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070923/NEWS/70924003