A 13 year-old boy should be riding bikes, horsing around, joking and enjoying life; not laying on mattress, pale as a ghost, gaunt and withered as his muscle mass atrophies. Not crying out in the night, as nightmares or waves of pain wrack his system. Not staggering through the hallways, weaving as though drunk, because his vascular system doesn’t move blood to his brain efficiently when he first stands up. He should be devouring everything in sight, fueling the physical building of an amazing human being. A thirteen-year-old boy should be looking forward to a life of growth, adventure, and achievement. Will you help that happen?

In September of 2021, Thaddeus and the rest of the family caught a flu bug. Within a week, everyone else had recovered, but Thaddeus continued to experience an ongoing stomach and abdominal pain. After several weeks, and visits with his Primary care doctor, we thought he was improving… but then we began to get calls from his school that he was in the nurse’s office because his stomach hurt. By November, Thaddeus had met with a gastroenterologist from Valley Children’s Hospital, and had a number of both invasive and non-invasive testing done, as well various blood draws for other testing. We followed the doctors instructions, but by January of 2022 we had not seen progress. Then, after multiple ER visits for the intense pain, we met with a neurologist who had Thaddeus admitted to Valley Children’s Hospital near Fresno, CA.

After a harrowing, multi-day stay in the hospital, with several treatments and further testing that actually caused him to feel worse, we brought Thaddeus home with an (incorrect) diagnoses of exclusion (it’s not all these things, so it must be this…). Over the course of the next nine months, we tried many different treatments, doctors and therapies. Nothing seemed to explain all of his symptoms, but we collected several key clues. Genetic testing revealed that Thaddeus has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder with a number of known co-morbidities (other diseases or disorders that frequently show up alongside a given disorder/disease).

As we discovered more about Thaddeus’ medical conditions, it became clear that we would need to be able to control his home environment as much as possible, so we bought a house (couldn’t, after all, renovate a rental to remove VOCs, mold, etc…). Owning a home was an immediate blessing, and as we prepped it for moving in, we found and had remediated several small patches of mold. We did replace the carpet in the house with a no-VOC flooring, and did all the work with the help of generous friends who donated time, knowledge, and skills! After Thaddeus underwent a medical procedure at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to reprogram his nervous system/pain reaction, he showed signs of relief… but then, after just a few weeks back at home, the pain returned, and increased.

We entered a search for what could be causing this increase in symptoms, and after doing air, surface, infrared and so many other tests we discovered that the house had a much greater, hidden, mold problem. We were urged to move the entire family out of the house as soon as possible when the results showed mold levels literally THOUSANDS of times higher than the EPA deems safe. With extensive remediation required, we moved out of our home to live with a (very generous) local friend while the crews came to clean out our house.

Unfortunately, Thaddeus symptoms continue to worsen, and though the house is now cleaned, the costs of the remediation ($50,000+), replacing the mold-infested air conditioning and heating system ($30,000+), and the uncovered medical costs of the last two years ($70,000+) have left us needing your help. We emptied the emergency fund, savings accounts, and retirement accounts. We went from debt free to more than $150,000 of unsecured debt, maxing out all available lines of credit.

The house now needs to be put back together. Not only do walls floors, and doors that have been removed need to be replaced, but the mold infested kitchen island was gutted. There is not even a sink left!

In order to move Thaddeus into the medically safe, VOC reduced and mold-free home, and continue the medical care that will finally allow him to recover, we need your help.

We cannot do it alone- will you be a part of helping Thaddeus to have a chance at a pain-free life?

Thank you.

Todd and Katie Musser

How your donations could help:

$25- covers 1 month supply of some of the specially compounded medication (each batch hand compounded to not include industry standard fillers to which Thaddeus has an adverse reaction) (He takes about 40 pills a day, currently)

$50- covers 1 month supply of some of the specially compounded medication (each batch hand compounded to not include industry standard fillers to which Thaddeus has an adverse reaction)

$155- monthly storage unit cost until we can move back in the house

$200- covers 1 physical therapy appointment to reduce pain and maintain ability to move (4 x month)

$250- Consultation with MCAS specialist or monthly climate-controlled storage until we move back in the house

$800- One appointment with Primary care physician (monthly) (insurance will cover part of this AFTER $8,000 out of pocket)

$1000- Pediatric Cardiologist Visit

$4,000- Replacing all the removed insulation from the attic

$5,000-$10,000 Replacing the removed flooring through the house (final cost will depend on how much of the work I can do!)