It is with a heavy heart I'm having to create this page. Ten years ago, my husband retired from the U.S. Marines; we moved to FL in hopes of finding a homestead on which to raise our family. We are currently on 10 acres in rural Glen St. Mary/Sanderson and have developed our land with blood, sweat, and tears to make this a reality. We have worked so hard on this property to raise our own food and care for our livestock, giving our four children the joy of being self-sustaining, and sharing with those who aren't able to do so.

This past two months, my health has rapidly declined, starting with chronic severe hair loss (for about 8 months and not stopping). Symptoms also include iron deficiency anemia, extreme fatigue, loss of energy, thyroid swelling, and neurological issues, to name a few. My children have for months complained of being tired, cold, and feeling sick, and their hair started falling out in very large clumps. After waiting months for the first available appointments, we have received little help from multiple physicians other than to identify low iron and continue to remain mystified by the household hair loss and lethargy/exhaustion, despite proper supplementation.

After recently learning of the possibility of heavy metal poisoning, I began researching nonstop and praying for answers, slowly putting the puzzle pieces together. Our county has notoriously poor well water and the waning water table further concentrates any contaminants, particularly for wells that are either more shallow or located next to a toxic site. I just witnessed some horrific results in an electrolysis test that was conducted on my tap water, as well as on the filtered water from our supposedly "good" countertop filter. I have come to the realization that indeed, our well water is highly contaminated with toxic heavy metals and the water we thought had been safe was actually poisoning us!

We all have chronic/acute heavy metal poisoning and now I am faced with the immediate financial and emotional stresses of acquiring temporary sources of clean water, immediately finding homes for all of our livestock and animals to keep them safe and alleviate that burden, getting the well water thoroughly tested, and facing the high probability that we will need to drill a new, deeper well and also have a whole-house filtration system installed. (This can range upwards of $30,000-$45,000 or more depending on what is deemed necessary per level of contamination and our geographic location!)

Additionally and most critically - I am fighting for the health and lives of my children and myself. I need immediate and accurate heavy metal testing and IV chelation therapy to remove the high load from my tissues, organs, and bloodstream (this will also give practitioners insight into what the children are also facing medically and how to treat it. Most integrative physicians will not see minors, and mainstream practitioners are not equipped or trained on dealing with this medical emergency as they typically treat for organ failure in acute/extreme poisoning events instead of properly removing the metal). Conventional medicine simply cannot adequately assess nor treat this condition, so all of this must be paid out of pocket!! A consult, testing, and series of chelation sessions for ONE person plus gas money at current prices will run close to $6,000 or perhaps more, depending on the severity of toxicity they discover. This will have to be performed by one of several integrative practices (either Gainesville, Ponte Vedra, or Jax Beaches) and is not covered by any insurance.

Things have been very difficult financially for us over the years. My spouse works overseas and is away from the home most of the time, trying to make ends meet to support the farm and family. His absence adds additional strain but the children and I do the best we can to remain strong and cling to our faith. Right now, we are all being faced with an ENORMOUS mountain in our path and cannot move forward without immediate financial support!!! This is a burden we simply cannot bear. We are unfortunately unable to afford the medical treatment that I critically need, much less the cost of well treatments/filters or a new well. The children will also need medical care soon - for the moment, I am trying to get stable so that I can be there for them and get us through this chaos. I cannot imagine the stress this is also putting on my husband; he is currently overseas. I am setting the immediate fundraising goal to $10,000 to pay for urgent medical needs, detox supplies, and then seeing if we are able to raise the larger amount that would be needed for well remediation, as we simply are unable to afford any of it.

I am pleading out of desperation that each person who reads this will please consider contributing whatever is laid on your heart, whether in the form of prayers, financial support, advice, or any leads that might help navigate this difficult situation. Please, if you are able, post this onto all of your social media accounts and spread the word!!! I do not have social media but have a strong group of friends-that-are-family and I know God will use them and even my situation to bring healing and glory to a seemingly hopeless situation. Perhaps this will bring awareness locally to the necessity of well water testing and potentially lead to better accountability in our county regarding the water table quality.

If, once this is all over (I have hope and faith that there will be a tomorrow), I have a vision of perhaps helping create a small nonprofit fund that will be available to help those who cannot afford to get heavy metal testing for their wells, so that their families can have reassurance and be saved the devastation that we are currently experiencing.

I plan to update this site with any developments and give progress reports on our situation; I covet your prayers, thoughts, strength, and encouragement. Thank you in advance for anything that you are able to offer. I pray that you will be richly blessed in return!!