Hi friends and family,

If you’re reading this, thank you so much. This is really hard for me to write, but this has been the toughest battle we’ve ever faced. Over the last couple of years my health has completely changed. If you know me personally, you know I’ve been sick with autoimmune and chronic health issues for a few years now. I went from being a pretty normal, working, busy mom to feeling sick almost every day.

Over the last 2 years my symptoms have looked like:

• Fatigue and weakness that sleep doesn’t help

• Brain fog

• Nerve-type pain and body aches

• Fast heart rate and dizziness from standing at times.

• Flu-ish feelings that no amount of rest ever really fixes.

• Muscle/Joint/Skin pain

• Pots Symptoms

And more.

For years I’ve bounced between doctors and hospitals trying to get answers and no one could figure out what was wrong with me and why I was and am so sick.

• Rheumatologist – diagnosed me with UCTD (undifferentiated connective tissue disease)

• Cardiologist – ran numerous tests and told me I have POTS.

• Neurologist – told me my MRI is “normal,” even when I don’t feel normal at all.

• Primary care – my PCP has gone above and beyond, but this is starting to be outside what they can treat in a regular office.

I’ve been told it’s stress, anxiety, “normal labs,” all while my life was quietly falling apart behind the scenes.

On top of that, our housing situation has been turned upside down.

We lived in our first rental for about three years. We loved our home. We later learned, after 3 years, it had serious water damage and mold. When we finally connected my symptoms to the house, we had no choice but to leave and threw away a lot of our belongings, trying to start fresh and protect my health. It was devastating.

We moved into a newer rental we hoped would be safe… but after only about five weeks there, my body crashed again, the same terrifying symptoms, this time even worse. We later found out that home had humidity and water-damage issues in the crawlspace/basement that we couldn’t control and the landlord wouldn’t/couldn’t fix without tearing the home down.

We are having to leave again and it has broke us emotionally and financially.

We are going to have to stay with family. While I’m grateful to have a roof over ours heads but it is not ideal for long term. We’ve moved twice, thrown away belongings, and tried everything we could afford on our own.

Recently, after some saving and family help we got together the money, to finally able to see a specialist 6 hours away. That visit and the labs she ordered are what finally put a name to this:

CIRS – Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, most likely triggered by long-term exposure to water-damaged buildings.

Some of my labs are abnormal, and testing has shown I carry specific HLA genes that make it harder for my body to recognize and clear mold/biotoxins in water damaged buildings. Instead of getting rid of them, my immune system stays stuck in an inflammatory loop. Even after leaving exposure, my body is still acting like it’s under attack.

CIRS has likely triggered or worsened:

• POTS.

• Autoimmune activation – UCTD and ongoing autoimmune symptoms.

• Ongoing fatigue, pain, ect..

My primary care doctor is very kind and has worked me & tried to help, but treating CIRS and mold-related illness requires specific training and approaches most regular doctors don’t have. The specialist care, labs, and safer housing we need are mostly out-of-pocket and far beyond what we can manage alone, especially after two sudden moves.

What Your Help Supports

I’m asking for help with things I realistically can’t do alone:

• CIRS-focused medical care

Specialist visits, follow-ups, and labs that aren’t covered by Medicaid.

• Treatments and supportive supplements recommended by my doctors to calm my immune and nervous system.

• Air purifiers, dehumidifier, and environmental testing to make sure our next place is as safe as possible.

• Replacing essentials we had to throw away and covering costs from having to leave two unsafe rentals.

• Safer housing costs - deposit, first months rent, and basic essentials to help us get out of water damage places.

The long-term goal is a safe home, helping us work toward a small, safer home or truly low-mold rental where we can finally rebuild without constant fear of getting sick again.

⸻

My goal is simple:

I want my health to stabilize enough so I can continue working, support my family, and be the mom my kids deserve, without feeling like my body is constantly fighting against me. I don’t expect a miracle cure, but I do believe with the right treatment and a safer place to live, I have a real chance to stabilize and improve instead of slowly getting worse.

If you can’t donate, sharing this means just as much. Thank you for reading, praying, checking on us, or helping in any way. It all matters more than you know.

With love and gratitude,

August