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Help the Middletons Rebuild after Toxic Mold

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The Gist:

The Middleton family (Tim, Julie, four-year-old Fiona, and 22-month-old Riley) just found out that their home is filled with toxic mold that’s making them sick, but they can’t leave without our help. 


Julie & Tim’s Story: 

In 2017, Tim and Julie Middleton bought their first house in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Julie grew up in Oregon and Tim in California, where they met and married. In 2010 Tim was offered a chance to return to work at an Oklahoma nonprofit where he and Julie had volunteered a couple of years earlier. The opportunity to do meaningful work was too good to pass up, even though the move would mean saying goodbye to friends and family on the West Coast. 

Tim and Julie worked diligently to put down roots in Bartlesville. Julie became certified as a functional nutritional therapy practitioner and started a private practice. They had their first child, Fiona, in February 2016, and Julie stepped away from her practice to raise Fiona full time. Their second child, Riley, was born in the kitchen of their new house in September 2018. Julie and the kids planted a garden. But chronic health struggles continued to interrupt this newfound stability. Tim and Julie were both diagnosed with autoimmune disease(s), and Julie was hospitalized for a life-threatening vertebral dissection in 2019. Despite Julie’s deep knowledge of nutrition and how to create a health promoting lifestyle, their conditions kept worsening. This is when their functional medicine practitioner suggested that they have their home evaluated as a possible cause. 


Disaster Strikes:

Then, in July 2020, the dreaded confirmation of suspicions came: the Middletons home was filled with dangerous levels of mold. The source was not visible, making it nearly impossible to find in a normal home inspection. It was no longer safe for them to be in their home, but Eastern Oklahoma was in the midst of both a heat wave and rising cases of COVID-19, so they had nowhere to go. Because mold can survive on porous surfaces, they would need to throw away nearly all of their belongings, including clothing, furniture, books, photo albums, body care products, open food items, appliances, and most of their children’s toys. In the span of one week, the Middletons found out that they were about to lose nearly everything they’d built over the past decade in Bartlesville. They are now stuck living in a house that is actively making them sick and endangering their young children. 


How to Help: 

In order to defray the massive costs of rebuilding their lives, Tim and Julie hope to sell their home and rent or purchase a smaller place. However, they cannot do this without first addressing the mold issue. This involves  completing a full overhaul of their A/C and HVAC system, which professionals have estimated will cost $10,000–15,000. It is possible that the repairs may cost far more than this if further mold damage is found. If it’s approved, the Middletons’ home insurance covers only $5,000 for all mold-related costs: including repairs and replacement of all lost property. Their savings are already spent. They need our help to fund the repairs that will let them move out of their unsafe home and get them to a new place: $12,000 for AC/HVAC repairs, $1,000 for dumpster rental and junk removal, $1,000+ for other mold remediation and cleaning costs, including protective equipment, and $1,000 to assist with moving expenses. 


This is a hard time to give. Many of us are struggling due to the economic downturn and the COVID-19 pandemic. But every little bit helps. Even a few dollars could help replace a beloved lost toy for Fiona or Riley, fund the scanning of some family photographs, or help the Middletons meet basic needs. 


Other Ways: 

If you’re local: If you are able to assist with moving, disposal of goods, or other logistics, Julie & Tim could use your help! This is especially true if you have experience with mold remediation or junk disposal. You could also offer to keep the kids occupied for an hour or two so that Julie and Tim can work on logistics or pack. 

If you’re out of state: Julie and Tim have put together an Amazon wishlist of items that will need to be replaced once they move, so there will be opportunities coming to purchase goods for them directly. If you have old photos of the Middletons, you can scan them and send them via email or file transfer to help them rebuild their photo record. 

Anyone: If you have a social media presence, share this GoFundMe with others who may be able to help. The more people hear about Julie and Tim, the better chance we have at getting them the help they need. 


Giving back:

Those of you who know Julie and Tim personally know that they are faithful friends, thoughtful and principled parents, and deeply devoted to making the world a better place, one intentional action at a time. This is a chance for us to show the Middletons how much their love, care, resilience, and kindness has meant to us over the years. We can do it! 


Want to know more about mold? A reading list from Julie: 

Here are a couple resources that you can check out if you want to know more about why high levels of mold are problematic, particularly for people with chronic health conditions such as autoimmune disease. 


https://chriskresser.com/5-things-you-should-know-about-toxic-mold-illness/

www.survivingtoxicmold.com

https://blog.daveasprey.com/moldy-movie-coming-soon

https://drhyman.com/blog/2019/01/24/bb-ep39/

https://drcrista.com/

https://overcast.fm/+NNiGnBpvc  (podcast episode with Dr. Ann Shippy, MD)


And some scientific studies on mold and its potential health effects:

Baxi SN, Portnoy JM, Larenas-Linnemann D, Phipatanakul W; Environmental Allergens Workgroup. Exposure and Health Effects of Fungi on Humans. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2016;4(3):396-404. doi:10.1016/j.jaip.2016.01.008 


Harding CF, Pytte CL, Page KG, et al. Mold inhalation causes innate immune activation, neural, cognitive and emotional dysfunction. Brain Behav Immun. 2020;87:218-228. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2019.11.006


Hyvönen S, Lohi J, Tuuminen T. Moist and Mold Exposure is Associated With High Prevalence of Neurological Symptoms and MCS in a Finnish Hospital Workers Cohort. Saf Health Work. 2020;11(2):173-177. doi:10.1016/j.shaw.2020.01.003


Mendell MJ, Mirer AG, Cheung K, Tong M, Douwes J. Respiratory and allergic health effects of dampness, mold, and dampness-related agents: a review of the epidemiologic evidence. Environ Health Perspect. 2011;119(6):748-756. doi:10.1289/ehp.1002410
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Organizer and beneficiary

Sarah Koenig
Organizer
Waldwick, NJ
Julie Middleton
Beneficiary

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