PHOTO COURTESY OF DEB D’ANDREA[/caption]

It’s hard to believe it’s almost been a decade since Brad Wickham accepted the grave responsibility of caretaking Bredo Morstoel. That means delivering and packing dry ice to keep him frozen. Taking the reins from Jane of Keep Magnolia Clean, Brad looked at caretaking Grandpa Bredo as lifesaving. He said, “The Universe presented this opportunity because of my situation, PTSD. It was a healing opportunity.”

Caring for Grandpa Bredo came with its own challenges, some quite treacherous. Transporting the ever so important dry ice is a year-round, weekly endeavor. Most of us living in the mountains are familiar with winter and all that comes with it; which Brad said was the hardest season to deliver ice. “It’s not just the treachery in the canyon, but the snow bank drifts which form around Grandpa Bredo’s Tuff Shed, making access difficult.”

This process is time consuming and strenuous, something Brad won’t miss in retirement. But he says, “It’s cool to tell myself while driving up, at that moment, I’m the only guy in the world doing this.” In some ways, he’s inadvertently developed a relationship with Grandpa Bredo. He will miss the connection with the town of Nederland, and his involvement in shedding a positive vibe on Nederland as a whole. “The Town saved my life and it’s my way of giving back,” Brad says.

Some of the best times were the Grandpa Bredo Tours during Frozen Dead Guy Days. Brad liked to watch people’s reactions, especially kids, when taking them up. “They are surprised to see the ‘castle,’ they don’t anticipate that.” While most tours occurred during the daytime, Brad would sometimes find himself there after dark during the wintertime. “It’s not really spooky, but being in the shed with the lantern and coffin would make a great stage for a horror story!”

So, one may ask, what does the future hold? Brad will be passing the Grandpa Bredo caretaking torch to Amanda Macdonald, Frozen Dead Guy Day Festival Co-Owner and Event Coordinator. Once the torch is passed, Brad is looking forward to his retirement and having the ability to travel with his wife who is a mobile Laboratory Medical Technologist currently in Maine.

I asked Brad how caretaking Grandpa Bredo changed his outlook on life and mortality. He said, “Caring for Bredo gave me an opportunity to face myself, and focus on the restructuring and redirecting of my existence, which I had almost derailed through drugs and alcohol, a result of self-medicating trauma symptoms. Interesting story, I did some work for Kirk Johnson, a psychologist in Gilpin; and it was him, while giving me a ride home, who suggested I had vicarious trauma from healthcare burnout. I feel after 10 years of caretaking Grandpa Bredo, it’s time to allow someone else the privilege; but I know, I can always visit.”