Tess Harper's - Chronic Illness Journey

A year and a half before the world was gripped by the fear of an unknown virus, Tess' life was catapulted into a starkly different reality than the one she herself had come to know. In the fall of 2018, Tess, who many of us know as a passionate spokesperson for health and wellness, found herself in a whirlwind of inexplicable physical limitations and symptoms with no easy answers as to why. What started with shortness of breath on a work trip turned into a multi-year chronic illness, leading to countless doctor appointments, two spinal taps, multiple bone marrow biopsies, anaphylactic shock, inability to breathe normally—what she would later come to know as “air hunger”—and a dangerously compromised immune system.

The journey to diagnosis has been a long one. Tess’ symptoms were associated with Lyme disease, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth, Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes, and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. While these conditions often overlap, they are typically either a byproduct of or re-engaged due to something called mycotoxins (more on that in the next section). Doctors from all over Georgia have been scratching their heads and coming up with different diagnoses, from Mast Cell to Lyme disease. For Tess, the lack of clarity was not only scary but also made it difficult to explain to others and even accept for herself the ultimate cause once it was revealed: mold.

Exposure to mold spores can cause various symptoms. Often, people with mold in their environment experience mild side effects like asthma, headaches, and irritated eyes. For others, like Tess, the type of mold and the amount of mold present in their environment leads to more severe reactions like shortness of breath, paralysis, memory loss, and chronic body aches and pains. While mold may be common in approximately 50% of our homes, all molds are not the same. The strain of mold present in Tess’ apartment at the onset of her symptoms in 2018 (unaware to her) produces toxic agents called mycotoxins. A little chemistry lesson for deeper context: These mycotoxins are lipophilic. Lipophilic or “lipid–loving” molecules are attracted to lipids or fats. Because of this, mold toxins migrate to and deposit in the brain because the brain is our ‘fattiest’ organ, consisting of 60% fat. This is why Tess was experiencing a bizarre variety of both neurological and physical symptoms.

Since mold exposure symptoms differ between individuals and overlap with many other conditions, general non-integrative physicians all too often do not even consider mold toxicity when diagnosing. Much of this journey has been a road to discovery based on Tess’ determination to find answers beyond symptom management, to heal the root cause, and to restore her ability to move through the world again with a clear mind and healthy body.

Living in a historic loft, she started with an at-home test and then brought in professionals to analyze the mold levels and strains in her environment. Their recommendation was unanimous: these mold levels were overwhelmingly toxic, and she needed to get out.

The danger of toxic mold cannot be overstated. When people discover toxic mold in their environment, the solution is much more complicated than your average household mold and must be dealt with extreme caution, professionally. Otherwise, contamination is inevitable, and the spores will spread to new environments, continuing to wreak havoc on the body of the person exposed. Mold spores can live in fibers and soft surfaces like clothing, furniture, mattresses, sheets, towels, and even books, so none of those materials can move with you. While some hard surfaces can be what they call “remediated,” it all depends on the porousness of the material, and the risk is often too great to take. For Tess, this meant her journey of getting out of a toxic environment was much more complicated than simply finding a new place to live. It meant finding a new place to live, getting rid of nearly everything she owned, and starting entirely from scratch. Tess was faced with one of the hardest decisions of her life. Her health was more important than her possessions—no matter how meaningful or sentimental—so she got rid of nearly everything she owned, moved into a new apartment building, and started slowly rebuilding her life.

In addition to the move, Tess has found a functional medicine doctor with extensive experience working with mold toxicity. Now that her body is not constantly exposed to mycotoxins in her environment, the next step is detoxing what has already infiltrated her system. This doctor has created a unique protocol based on Tess’ symptoms, bloodwork, and health history. The purpose of the protocol is to assist her body’s mold detoxification process with the help of a specialized diet, specific supplements, and what are known as “binders” (these “bind” to the toxins and carry them out of the body). The journey will be long, but if you’ve seen Tess recently, you know that she’s already doing better than she has in years.

That being said, one of the biggest challenges still lies ahead; this is where you can help. Beyond the doctor’s appointments covered by her insurance, everything else she’s been through over the last couple of years (mold testing, remediation, the move, replacing essential furniture like her bed, couch, kitchen table, towels, sheets and blankets, clothing, the recovery protocol) has been entirely out of pocket and on her own dime. The financial burden has been tremendous. (We’re not talking about a few thousand dollars but tens of thousands of dollars.) As her friends, we feel that it’s time Tess stopped trying to carry this burden alone. So we’re asking that you consider supporting Tess however you can. For some, that may mean picking up the phone and saying hi, joining her at church or for a walk, taking her out for a meal, or giving what you can where you can. We aim to raise $20,000 so she can continue working with her doctor to stay on this life-saving protocol. We want to see her in full recovery, doing daily tasks with a clear mind and healthy body, bringing that Tess energy we all know and love back into the world again.

We appreciate your time, consideration, and support and ask that you help us share her story so we can continue to assist her on her road to recovery.

Love and blessings,

Haley James and Jessica Worthington

To learn more about Mold Toxicity, check out the following links:

The Mayo Clinic - MCAD

The Guided Well - mold resource

Mast Cell 360(a guide + a article connecting dots between MCAD, mold, histamine, and other autoimmune illnesses)

PJ Harlow - mold resource and remediation