Chuck & Steph Bonadio



Family and Friends,

Chuck and Steph need help. As so many of you know they have been dealing with a very complicated situation at home.

Their son Charlie has been suffering for almost two years with strange medical symptoms and a drastic change in his behavior. In addition to a cough and a rash that wouldn’t clear up,  they watched their once happy, carefree and daredevil of a guy turn completely inward and become anxious, angry and scared of everything. He showed signs of OCD in the form of intrusive thoughts, had extreme separation anxiety, and began to refuse going to school. Angry outbursts became routine occurrences. To say this was a shock is an understatement.

Steph began reading, researching his symptoms, digging to find whatever she could find that would give them an idea of what was happening with him.  His pediatrician told them to see a psychiatrist, but Steph couldn’t accept that answer. She knew it was something more than acting out.  Finally, she found what they had been looking for – or so she thought. She was at least on the right track, and it started them on this path to peeling back the layers one by one.

In March, they saw their first specialist and got a diagnosis.  PANS. It stands for Pediatric Acute Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. In short, Charlie’s immune system is not working properly. It is sending what antibodies he does make across his blood brain barrier to attack his brain (causing inflammation) instead of whatever illness he may be fighting. This explains the change in behaviors and leaves him more susceptible to bacteria and viruses.  The diagnosis was a start. From there, they had to find the cause – PANS is kind of a broad diagnosis and you need to know what the triggered it to be able to treat it successfully.

At the same time they started looking for triggers, they realizedthat what they thought was a minor mold issue in a damp basement, was not so minor.  They consulted with a remediation company and contacted the man who sold them their home as the finished basement came with a guarantee.  They agreed to remediate the mold, and he agreed to reinstall the French drains because the existing system wasn’t working properly.

Now, they had more evidence that Charlie’s condition was triggered by mold.  They sought out and saw a doctor who specializes in mold illness.  If you’re keeping count, that’s two specialists now, neither of whom accept any insurance.  Their fees of $400-$500/hour are completely out of pocket.  Since March, Charlie has been on very strong and expensive antibiotics (insurance covers $3 of $290 for a 10-day supply, so they use coupons when they can).  And now, since seeing the mold specialist, they are looking at additional bloodwork, medicine and supplement costs for an undetermined amount of time.  There is no definitive time line as far as Charlie getting better. Mold affects everyone differently. Charlie has a genetic predisposition for sensitivity and thus, mold sickness. About 20-25% of the population share this predisposition. Steph is also heavily affected by the mold, and Chuck and Sienna have, unfortunately, become symptomatic as well. The whole family will most likely need treatment.

Since they completed basement remediation and had their entire house cleaned, they began the task of disposing of any furniture in the home that the mold consultant advised them to throw away.  They rented a dumpster and threw out furniture, rugs, TV’s mattresses, and even sentimental items.  They were almost ready to head back in.  They thought the mold was gone.  They did their best –had a UV light installed on the HVAC system to kill any remaining mold and were getting set to begin cleaning one last time.  They wanted to leave no stone unturned, so Chuck removed the access to the attic and took a peek. They were shocked to find the attic completely contaminated with mold. It covers every beam and surface in the attic.

The rest of what happens to their family is to be determined….as of now, they cannot speak much about how they proceed, butthey are seeking legal counsel.  

Their home is uninhabitable, and at this point, they have been advised to stay out for good. They cannot sell it until they remediate, but they have spent their savings on medical care and all of the work on the house to this point. Their situation can be compared to losing everything in a fire, except insurance does not cover the damages, and they cannot rebuild.