Help My Mom, Kari, Heal From Toxic Mold Exposure

My mom is one of the most incredible people I have ever met. She is an amazing cook, an inspiring artist (PURCHASE ART HERE), and (above all) the best mom I could ask for. She’s always been there for me- showing me where the fairies hid in the woods, introducing me to the joy of art and letting me get treats from the grocery store whenever we went shopping.

 

The house she was living in for 20 years has toxic mold. The combination of Lyme disease, toxic mold, and her genetics (HLA-DR gene), created an illness that turned her life into a nightmare. She started getting very sick- unable to paint or do much of anything. Her brain wasn't working how it used to. She didn’t know what was wrong. It took countless appointments with specialty doctors to discover that she has mold illness. The lab work proved that she has a biotoxin illness with lethal amouts of trichothecenes (toxic mold) in her bloodstream.

 

CIRS (chronic inflammatory response system) is not widely recognized in the medical field. Because of this, it is not taken seriously by many doctors, or people in general, and is not covered by insurance.

 

This illness forced her out of her home, leaving all possessions behind, and into the family camper for a few weeks. Loosing all of her possessions, because of this illness, makes this comparable to a house fire. The camper wasn't much better than the house, so she was again forced out (this time into the world) going back and forth between sleeping in her car or in hotels . Then, when the weather warmed, she slept in a tent for 6 months. 

 

After nearly 2 years of being homeless, her husband built a small metal house for her on their property. She lived in her little house for less than a year and seemed to be getting better, but then winter came and her metal house was like a water bottle. The cold on the outside mixed with the warmth on the inside creating moisture, which in the end, became toxic as well.

 

This resulted in her having to leave her home in the middle of winter unable to breathe. Luckily, she was offered a place to stay for a few months. But then, as soon as springtime came, with the change in weather, she was unable to breathe again. 

 

My mom has had a lot of people think she was crazy. This includes friends and family, regardless of how obvious her sickness was - with flu-like symptoms, nose bleeds every day, blurred vision, migraines, feet and hands spazzing and curling up- to name a few. She even lost all of her hair and wore a wig so that no one would recognize her. (if you want to read about the many symptoms of CIRS I have included a link: https://www.nihadc.com/health-programs/chronic-inflammatory-response-syndrome-cirs.amp.html). 

 

This illness was not only causing my mom physical pain, it was killing her emotionally. The disbelief of her illness, and lack of emotional support from friends and family caused her to struggle to remain hopeful, sending her into a devastating turmoil, wishing she could just end it all. 

 

Fortunately, my mom found a support group that she has relied upon to help her through this. These people are either living with the illness or they have been able to move past it-sharing the steps that worked for them. Many of them are homeless too. One of the critical things they say to do is to drop everything and go somewhere dry, where the air is less of a threat so the body has a chance to heal. Many have been able to heal considerably from mold illness if they are away from both mold and other toxins for even a few months. Once my mom's immune system has a chance to heal, she should be able to handle less toxic molds without her body going into panic mode.

 

After 3 years of going through the pain of this nightmare, she left Virginia and traveled to Arizona. She immediately noticed a difference in how she felt and that her breathing became easier with dry air. Within a week, the wildfires began polluting the air making it hard for her to breathe again. My mom, Kari, is currently in Utah, having taken advice from a person in her support group, who has healed quite a bit. She is now where both the air and her body feels good.

 

Throughout this entire process, she has been going from hotel to campgrounds and renting cars to get to where she needs to be. Now that we understand her path to wellness, these measures are necessary for her survival. Unfortunately, she is on the other side of the country, in a state where she doesn’t know a single soul. She does not have a job, nor is she well enough to work, and has no means to pay for anything. We need your help desperately. 

 

If you are able to give anything, the funds would go directly towards medical costs, campgrounds, hotels, rental cars, and her basic necessities (food/water/clothing). I know we can get through this if we are able to get the financial help we need for her recovery.

 

Thank you so much for reading this and as a side note- if you search ‘go fund me’ and ‘mold’, you will find that this illness has thrown countless families and individuals out of their home. The fact that most doctors do not recognize this illness, and the harm it can cause, is completely baffling. If you are not able to give- please consider sharing this to get the word out about CIRS.