Talk Mold

In May of 2000 our family of 10 moved from a small house in suburban Chicago to a 3 year-old 5500 square foot home in Monument Colorado. We chose Colorado for its beauty and proximity to my husband’s writing colleagues. A year later our 9th child was born. During the course of that first year I noticed a small brown spot on our eldest daughter’s carpet. At the time I thought nothing of it. Today I know it was our first indicator that toxic mold was present in our home.
As the years progressed we saw numerous medical issues arise. Our oldest daughter developed a severe allergy to nuts, another daughter was diagnosed with a seizure disorder, and a son developed a mild hearing loss. Other medical issues among the children included swollen adenoids, numerous skin rashes, excessive menstrual bleeding, and chronic strep throat. Our dog was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 2 birds died.
In May of 2007 I pulled up the carpet where the brown spot had become quite large. We discovered black mold and immediately with the help of a friend tried to find the root of it by cutting into the drywall. We found extensive black mold surrounding the shower of the adjacent bathroom. Knowing nothing about black mold we called a remediation company. They did not ventilate the air, wore no masks, and did not contain the affected rooms. They assured us there was no danger or risk to our family. We believed them. The cause of the mold was builder negligence. He stapled the shower pan liner instead of gluing it and improperly installed the shower drain.
7 weeks after this massive exposure our 7 year-old son was diagnosed with Type 1 juvenile diabetes. In September our 11 year-old son complained of severe ringing in his ears. November 1st he was up all night with vomiting and severe vertigo. School became an impossibility and in fact he never returned to 6th grade.After pursuing second and third opinions he was diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease. Several surgeries were performed before Christmas including a shunt and 2 gentamiacin injections all with the hope of eliminating the vertigo. For a solid month I carried him around the house because walking had become so difficult. His walking improved with rehab and time but his chronic dizziness worsened. Our neurotologist became frustrated and told me our son needed tough love.
In February of 2008 my 10 year-old daughter was diagnosed with convergence insufficiency and diplopia after complaining of frequent headaches, dizziness, and motion sickness. In March of 2008 the rashes my 6 year-old son had developed became extensive. He also was urinating frequently and was constipated. Our son with diabetes developed numbness in his hand, vision disburbances, headaches and severe abdominal pain. Our older son’s acne increased dramatically and he continued to struggle with chronic colds and sore throat.My husband’s right hand became numb. I was sufferering from chronic fatigue. I called an environmental hygienist and asked if mold could cause mysterious illnesses such as ours and he assured me that respiratory symptoms were the only manifestation of mold and advised us against air testing. Three of the children were now out of school completely.
In May of 2008 our 8 year-old noticed discoloration on the ceiling of his bedroom. We discovered more mold. This now involved the master bedroom shower 3 floors above the previous mold. We called our mold remediation company and they began work immediately. Again they did not ventilate the air nor did they contain the affected rooms. We decided to have our air tested and on May 22nd learned that our spore counts for stachybotrys were greater than 200,000 in 2 of our rooms and more than 60,000 for chaetomium . Having already asked the remediation company to remove their equipment we hired a new company to perform an emergency remediation. They contained the rooms, wore protective clothing and masks and ventilated the rooms properly. We disposed of all our bedding,linens, and clothing in the master bedroom , disinfected our air ducts and had all carpets steam cleaned. In June of 2008 our spore count for black toxic mold was zero.
During the course of the summer we developed a major de-toxifying regimen. This included numerous supplements and major dietary changes. We continued to see the benefit of chiropractic treatment by an orthospinologist , a specialty involving the atlas bone and its intersection with the spinal column. When there is misalignment the brain is inhibited from sending its messages to the body. Neurological and immune system issues result. One of the primary causes of misalignment is toxic exposure.
Our children all started school August 14th. Some symptoms remain. But I can take them to the park or swimming. They can play on sports teams and take dance lessons. The laughter and tears of everyday life have returned to our home and for that I am grateful.
As I look back I wonder why we didn’t see our illnesses as more than coincidental. I wonder why no doctor or specialist looked at the whole picture of our family and asked what might be going on in our home environment. I wonder why the truth about this devasting health hazard is virtually unknown.