A Home For My Wife
Donation protected
Original Video at this Link
https://youtu.be/m1CA21huyww
For another video which tells more of the story, please click the link, understanding the house mentioned in the video has already been sold. I put the link here for those who would like to know more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoRFKjqrVdY
In April 2011 I had just finished up my master of arts in counseling and was beginning the process of starting my own company. My wife and son, who had put up with me being gone all the time, doing my internship, working long hours, were ready for things to settle down. I spent the summer running from place to place promoting my counseling practice while at the same time enjoying time at the lake, taking walks with my family, and just simply enjoying being with them. Then, in July 2011, my wife got bit by a tick. Everything slowly deteriorated from there.
Fast forward to January 2013. I get a call from my fourteen year old son telling me “Mom’s having a lot of chest pain and says she has a metal taste in her mouth. She’s not doing well!” I told him I’d be right home and immediately dialed 911. This is where the nightmare really started. She had been going downhill quickly, and over the last week I’d been up with her seemingly every fifteen minutes during the night, carrying her to the bathroom, then getting up and working part-time as a Spiritual Wellness Coordinator at a local retirement village, trying to keep my counseling practice going and returning home to start all over again. This particular day, after Daaron called me, I got home and she was having convulsions, severe abdominal pain, chest pain, and a metal taste in her mouth. The ambulance took her to the local ER and my son and I followed. When she arrived at the hospital she was an appalling 94 pounds. I was appalled when the ER doctors put her in the hospital but told me there was nothing wrong with her! I was watching her scream in pain, convulse on the table, and listening to the doctors telling me there was nothing wrong with my wife. They sent her home and told me to have her take an anti-anxiety med. I would not give up, but to save time and space here, I’ll spare you the awful details between that and getting to a proper diagnosis.
The proper diagnosis came as a result of prayer. That’s right. A pray meeting at a church in a small town twenty miles from our home somehow got my wife’s name and our situation. They began praying for my wife that night. After the pray meeting a woman came to the pastor and said “Get her to this doctor. He can help her.” I was then given the information. At this point it was now April. We were at the end. My wife had signed over power of attorney and we were preparing for her death. I, in desperation, called Bio Energy Medical Center in Ann Arbor, MI only to be told that the doctor didn’t have an opening until October. I explained that my wife wasn’t going to make it that long. They responded “Well, his nurse practitioner has an opening in about six weeks, do you want an appointment with her?” I sighed, said “yes!” and was put on hold. A couple minutes later the receptionist came back on the line with a startled “Well! She has an opening this week! Do you want it?” I immediately set up the appointment.
After dealing with numerous doctors, my wife and I didn’t hold much hope. As a matter of fact, we would have given up if we hadn’t found this place. I started right in, angry, uptight, helpless, all the things a husband feels as he watches his wife suffer. The nurse practitioner put up her hand and stopped me. She said it was obvious my wife was sick. She pulled out the results of a metal toxicity test that a previous doctor had run, saying “This is a good test, and it shows your wife definitely has metal toxicity. However, there must be something behind it because she didn’t work in an environment where she would be exposed to these.” She worked her way back from there. Within four weeks we were sitting in front of the doctor, reading the results of all the tests, and getting a workable plan. She did, indeed, have metal toxicity. We had already started chelation for that and the abdominal pain and metal taste in her mouth dissipated. She had been exposed to mold, indeed, was still being exposed to mold, and then, finally, there was some kind of infection. We later found the infection to be lyme disease. This combination was brutal. On top of that, Debra had been in an accident at a younger age and had numerous surgeries and internal injuries. The scar tissue has created issues with Debra's ability to detox, as her bowels do not move well on their own. Finally, just recently, she was found to have toxoplasma, which is a parasite. Typically this remains in the colon but because of Debra's inability to move things, it has gotten into her blood stream and brain. This combination has caused a hellish sickness for my wife.
Debra improved throughout the summer, but it began to be obvious that we needed to get her in a different home, a home where we could create the right environment for her. The doctor confirmed this, telling us I needed to get her in a home with all hard surfaces, preferably on a slab, with baseboard heat, and no fabric. Meaning all the couches my wife had reupholstered would have to go. All the curtains she had made… gone. All the quilts my wife had sewn… gone too. The pets, the kittens my son had bought from the animal shelter, everything would have to go. We were devastated, but we could see he was right. There was just one problem. We had spent everything on medical bills, spent all we had to keep her alive. She had made progress, but it became more and more obvious we could not make it in this house, and then, everything hit the fan.
December 29th, 2013 I drove my wife back to the hospital. This time she had pneumonia. At two in the morning the hospital called me, telling me they were putting her in intensive care, her oxygen levels had dropped dangerously low, and they were putting her on a ventilator. I knew I could not bring her back to our rented home. We lost everything. Just as surely as a fire takes everything from a family, so, too, does mold exposure. And we lost everything. We spent an entire year living with different people, trying to find a home that would fit my wife’s needs, and finally purchasing a home on a land contract with absolutely no money. We began this gofundme site in March, 2014. Our original goal was $200,000. Later, when we found the home, we thought we could do it with $150,000. Finally, we sat down with the president of a local credit union and crunched the numbers. It opened my eyes and has given me the goal you now see. $185,000. We need this home so my wife can heal. Those who understand, we are so grateful for you. Those who do not, I just hope you take the time to educate yourself on lyme disease and mold exposure. Two wonderful sources are Under Our Skin: The Untold Story of Lyme Disease, a documentary, and www.survivingmold.com. After a year of being basically homeless, we moved into our home, with no running water, no toilets, nothing ready. We slept on the floor while we redid the home from the ground up. Please help us finish this nightmarish blessing. Following is a list of our financial needs and my income. I don ‘t like to share this info, but it seems best to let people know exactly where we are and be able to cross things off as we get them. Please help out any way you can! God Bless!
Finishing Needs
*Air Conditioning/Purification................................ $3200*
*Consumers Energy..................................................... $750 (Needed to put Consumer Bill back in our name)
*Appliances ........................................................... $3500
Furniture .................................................................. $8000
(Leather furniture and wood table and chairs)
Down to Earth Home.................................. $5000-$6000 *Beds have now been purchased
(Estimation. Waiting on quote for bed, dressers, and desks)
Miscellaneous Household.................................................................. $10,000
(Clothing, Linens, silver ware, plates cooking utensils, food, everything else, etc.)
*Drinking Water system
Car Port
Central Vac ................................................................. $1000
House ................................................................ $90,000
(We need to pay it off as soon as we are able. We were originally planning to pay cash and had been lead to believe we would be getting a grant. When that didn’t come through, we purchased on a land contract with nothing down. We need to get it paid off as we truly can’t afford to make payments AND pay for the medical bills, and the people selling it really need it off their books because they are losing money on us and really can’t afford to.)
Medical Bills ................................................................................... $1000 per month as it stands right now.
Miscellaneous Medical Bills.............................................................. $1000
( We have a few outstanding medical bills, but because of the chaos involved with being homeless, we don’t have all the bills or know what the totals are right now.)
Net Income ........................................................ $3000/month
* Paid for through your support.
Mike Rogers, MA, LLPC
Spiritual Wellness Coordinator and Counselor
FOR THOSE LESS COMPUTER SAVVY WHO DESIRE TO DONATE, A MAILING ADDRESS IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
https://youtu.be/m1CA21huyww
For another video which tells more of the story, please click the link, understanding the house mentioned in the video has already been sold. I put the link here for those who would like to know more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoRFKjqrVdY
In April 2011 I had just finished up my master of arts in counseling and was beginning the process of starting my own company. My wife and son, who had put up with me being gone all the time, doing my internship, working long hours, were ready for things to settle down. I spent the summer running from place to place promoting my counseling practice while at the same time enjoying time at the lake, taking walks with my family, and just simply enjoying being with them. Then, in July 2011, my wife got bit by a tick. Everything slowly deteriorated from there.
Fast forward to January 2013. I get a call from my fourteen year old son telling me “Mom’s having a lot of chest pain and says she has a metal taste in her mouth. She’s not doing well!” I told him I’d be right home and immediately dialed 911. This is where the nightmare really started. She had been going downhill quickly, and over the last week I’d been up with her seemingly every fifteen minutes during the night, carrying her to the bathroom, then getting up and working part-time as a Spiritual Wellness Coordinator at a local retirement village, trying to keep my counseling practice going and returning home to start all over again. This particular day, after Daaron called me, I got home and she was having convulsions, severe abdominal pain, chest pain, and a metal taste in her mouth. The ambulance took her to the local ER and my son and I followed. When she arrived at the hospital she was an appalling 94 pounds. I was appalled when the ER doctors put her in the hospital but told me there was nothing wrong with her! I was watching her scream in pain, convulse on the table, and listening to the doctors telling me there was nothing wrong with my wife. They sent her home and told me to have her take an anti-anxiety med. I would not give up, but to save time and space here, I’ll spare you the awful details between that and getting to a proper diagnosis.
The proper diagnosis came as a result of prayer. That’s right. A pray meeting at a church in a small town twenty miles from our home somehow got my wife’s name and our situation. They began praying for my wife that night. After the pray meeting a woman came to the pastor and said “Get her to this doctor. He can help her.” I was then given the information. At this point it was now April. We were at the end. My wife had signed over power of attorney and we were preparing for her death. I, in desperation, called Bio Energy Medical Center in Ann Arbor, MI only to be told that the doctor didn’t have an opening until October. I explained that my wife wasn’t going to make it that long. They responded “Well, his nurse practitioner has an opening in about six weeks, do you want an appointment with her?” I sighed, said “yes!” and was put on hold. A couple minutes later the receptionist came back on the line with a startled “Well! She has an opening this week! Do you want it?” I immediately set up the appointment.
After dealing with numerous doctors, my wife and I didn’t hold much hope. As a matter of fact, we would have given up if we hadn’t found this place. I started right in, angry, uptight, helpless, all the things a husband feels as he watches his wife suffer. The nurse practitioner put up her hand and stopped me. She said it was obvious my wife was sick. She pulled out the results of a metal toxicity test that a previous doctor had run, saying “This is a good test, and it shows your wife definitely has metal toxicity. However, there must be something behind it because she didn’t work in an environment where she would be exposed to these.” She worked her way back from there. Within four weeks we were sitting in front of the doctor, reading the results of all the tests, and getting a workable plan. She did, indeed, have metal toxicity. We had already started chelation for that and the abdominal pain and metal taste in her mouth dissipated. She had been exposed to mold, indeed, was still being exposed to mold, and then, finally, there was some kind of infection. We later found the infection to be lyme disease. This combination was brutal. On top of that, Debra had been in an accident at a younger age and had numerous surgeries and internal injuries. The scar tissue has created issues with Debra's ability to detox, as her bowels do not move well on their own. Finally, just recently, she was found to have toxoplasma, which is a parasite. Typically this remains in the colon but because of Debra's inability to move things, it has gotten into her blood stream and brain. This combination has caused a hellish sickness for my wife.
Debra improved throughout the summer, but it began to be obvious that we needed to get her in a different home, a home where we could create the right environment for her. The doctor confirmed this, telling us I needed to get her in a home with all hard surfaces, preferably on a slab, with baseboard heat, and no fabric. Meaning all the couches my wife had reupholstered would have to go. All the curtains she had made… gone. All the quilts my wife had sewn… gone too. The pets, the kittens my son had bought from the animal shelter, everything would have to go. We were devastated, but we could see he was right. There was just one problem. We had spent everything on medical bills, spent all we had to keep her alive. She had made progress, but it became more and more obvious we could not make it in this house, and then, everything hit the fan.
December 29th, 2013 I drove my wife back to the hospital. This time she had pneumonia. At two in the morning the hospital called me, telling me they were putting her in intensive care, her oxygen levels had dropped dangerously low, and they were putting her on a ventilator. I knew I could not bring her back to our rented home. We lost everything. Just as surely as a fire takes everything from a family, so, too, does mold exposure. And we lost everything. We spent an entire year living with different people, trying to find a home that would fit my wife’s needs, and finally purchasing a home on a land contract with absolutely no money. We began this gofundme site in March, 2014. Our original goal was $200,000. Later, when we found the home, we thought we could do it with $150,000. Finally, we sat down with the president of a local credit union and crunched the numbers. It opened my eyes and has given me the goal you now see. $185,000. We need this home so my wife can heal. Those who understand, we are so grateful for you. Those who do not, I just hope you take the time to educate yourself on lyme disease and mold exposure. Two wonderful sources are Under Our Skin: The Untold Story of Lyme Disease, a documentary, and www.survivingmold.com. After a year of being basically homeless, we moved into our home, with no running water, no toilets, nothing ready. We slept on the floor while we redid the home from the ground up. Please help us finish this nightmarish blessing. Following is a list of our financial needs and my income. I don ‘t like to share this info, but it seems best to let people know exactly where we are and be able to cross things off as we get them. Please help out any way you can! God Bless!
Finishing Needs
*Air Conditioning/Purification................................ $3200*
*Consumers Energy..................................................... $750 (Needed to put Consumer Bill back in our name)
*Appliances ........................................................... $3500
Furniture .................................................................. $8000
(Leather furniture and wood table and chairs)
Down to Earth Home.................................. $5000-$6000 *Beds have now been purchased
(Estimation. Waiting on quote for bed, dressers, and desks)
Miscellaneous Household.................................................................. $10,000
(Clothing, Linens, silver ware, plates cooking utensils, food, everything else, etc.)
*Drinking Water system
Car Port
Central Vac ................................................................. $1000
House ................................................................ $90,000
(We need to pay it off as soon as we are able. We were originally planning to pay cash and had been lead to believe we would be getting a grant. When that didn’t come through, we purchased on a land contract with nothing down. We need to get it paid off as we truly can’t afford to make payments AND pay for the medical bills, and the people selling it really need it off their books because they are losing money on us and really can’t afford to.)
Medical Bills ................................................................................... $1000 per month as it stands right now.
Miscellaneous Medical Bills.............................................................. $1000
( We have a few outstanding medical bills, but because of the chaos involved with being homeless, we don’t have all the bills or know what the totals are right now.)
Net Income ........................................................ $3000/month
* Paid for through your support.
Mike Rogers, MA, LLPC
Spiritual Wellness Coordinator and Counselor
FOR THOSE LESS COMPUTER SAVVY WHO DESIRE TO DONATE, A MAILING ADDRESS IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
Organizer
Michael Rogers
Organizer
Jackson, MI
