Our Home’s Dirty Little Secret

After eight months of asking for our third-party mold testing results, the HOA finally provided us the file. Twenty holes were drilled in the drywall for air cavity sampling. Five were significantly elevated and two contained the spooky “toxic black mold.” Behind the drywall, our home was hiding a dirty little secret. Per the comments on the report, these results are horrifying and unlivable.

Stachybotrys is the nasty one, rarely found in homes as compared to Aspergillus. Not only do we have the high levels of the neurotoxin, but where is it located? Right next to my side of the bed and butting up to my former home workstation. The same places I experienced violent sneezing, ice pick headaches, and trouble standing upright. Toxic mold was growing right next to me when a holter monitor captured a 167 resting heart rate while I was lying in bed. Toxic fumes were seeping out from my office wall when I fainted and lost consciousness for six minutes.

I have almost no recollection of the years 2018-2022. I know that friendships, jobs, and peak fitness were lost in the jumble, but I don’t feel the loss. I was too depleted to process whatever emotions I should have felt. Those are the blank pages in the story of my life.

We’re trying to pursue legal action to get our home back and possibly recoup some medical expenses. As we sift through the hundreds of files, I’m starting to feel some anger bubble up. My partner and I both had severe and worsening neurological, respiratory, circulatory, cognitive, vision, skin, immune system, reproductive, and endocrine issues for years. Now it’s clear that something in the environment was adversely affecting both of us. Yet, the doctors failed to recognize it, and so did we. We examined each symptom independently, following referrals from specialist to specialist. Even the functional, integrative, naturopathic, and homeopathic practitioners failed to see the larger picture.

Now, with 20/20 hindsight, the attorneys are telling us: “You should have reasonably known mold was making you ill.” I feel defeated. This is the same thing our attorney said last last year when he dropped us.

I begged my pulmonologist to test for mold in 2018 and when the labs came back negative for spores in my blood, I was assured it was not mold so I dropped it and moved on to other possibilities. We weren’t diagnosed with mold illness until 2021. How could I have known that the top pulmonologist in the state had been mistaken? Would it have been reasonable to assume the 2018 remediation was unsuccessful when their final air tests showed otherwise?

Whether or not we’re within the statue of limitations hinges on that question. Should we have known mold was the cause of our illness when we were first diagnosed in June 2021, or prior to that?

Sorting through the files, it’s like I’m reading someone else’s biography, until I remember it’s my own story. I’m the one whose biological heart age is 28 greater than my years lived. I’m the one who’s brain has type 3 Alzheimer’s. I’m the one who’s body is now at an elevated risk of cancer. I’m the one who was told repeatedly that it’s psychosomatic or conversion disorder. I’m the one who is spending $2,000 per month on medical expenses to remain functional. I’ve lost just about everything.

We’re still waiting to hear back from a few attorneys who are in depositions or at conferences, so fingers are still crossed. Worst case scenario, we take a online crash course on filing a lawsuit and do it ourselves before the June deadline (if our diagnosis is when the clock starts). Either way, we’re planning to schedule a conversation with our senators about extending the statute of limitations for personal injury due to environmental toxins. It’s one thing to go through a severe and chronic illness, and it’s the next level of hell to be told the responsible entity can walk free and clear. No one should have to go through this.

Lucky for me, my memory is shot is so I’ll have forgotten the entire rant by tomorrow. Ha. And lucky for me, the world wide interwebz will be here to remind me when I am trying to remember.

Point being: mold is a big deal for the 25% of the population who are susceptible. If you or someone you love has a constellation of wonky symptoms, look for mold. Your home may also be hiding it’s own dirty little secret. And it’s not the kind of thing you want to sweep under the rug to deal with later.