Help Gabe Get Healthy
In 2012, my husband, Gabe, was diagnosed with Mercury poisoning, and even though his levels of Mercury went back to normal in 2014, he's still been chronically sick every day. Up until this summer, we assumed his sickness still had to do with the mercury poisoning. We've been struggling to find out what is wrong with him and have gone to doctor after doctor looking for answers. Finally, this summer, we got some answers after a physician suggested he test his office for toxic mold. After his office tested positive for toxic mold, they suggested he get tested to see if he's been affected. He tested positive for it and has been diagnosed with CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome). For the past 6 years he's been chronically sick with extreme headaches, chronic fatigue, and pain in his entire body. It can put him out of commission for days at a time and we never know when its going to hit him. He is in pain daily. The last few months, we've tried to treat the mold though treatment provided by his local doctor, however, she does not specialize in mold toxicity. So, it's our hope to send him to an inpatient facility led by Dr. Sponaugle in Tampa for 3-5 months that specializes in treating mold toxicity. It is really expensive and not covered by insurance, so financially it isn't something we can do on our own. (Since the initial Gofundme campaign was started, we were told about a doctor that was closer to us in Hollywood, FL, Dr. Craig Tanio who specializes in treating CIRS who we started treatment with).
We've decided to reach out for help because It's destroying our family and we are at a breaking point. His sickness has affected our marriage, our family, and our kids. Weeknights and weekends are exhausting because he is always sick and ends up not being able to come to a lot of events/get-togethers, leaving me alone with the kids, or ends up curled up on the couch in pain at home leaving me caring for him and our two young kids. It gets frustrating too to never know if he’ll be able to make it to something until the last minute. It makes me sad for our kids because they are missing out on not having their dad around a lot of the time. He has missed out on so many “firsts” and fun experiences with our kids because of his sickness.
It has been really emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting for both of us - for me because I feel like I’m doing it all by myself a lot of the time and feel alone, and for him because he sees how much he is missing out on but is in so much pain he can’t do much about it.
We know we are super blessed in many ways, and have to be grateful for all we do have in the midst of this because we know others have it so much worse. However, it’s super hard knowing there’s a cure for this and that there is a possibility for us to actually experience what marriage and family life is like without sickness, but on our own we can’t afford it. It’s hard for us to see how this could actually all work out financially, but we’ve come to a place where we are fully trusting God in this. If He wants Gabe to go through this treatment in Tampa, then we trust He will provide financially. If not, we trust He has a reason for it and will continue to guide us through what treatment options we have here. We do not want anyone to feel pressured to give. We do know that many of you personally know Gabe and have seen him through his sickness and have wanted to help in some way, so if you feel led to we would greatly appreciate it. However, if you can't help financially, prayers would also help and be greatly appreciated too!
~ Carolina Greenberg
PS. We've been asked the following questions a few times so here are our answers:
Doesn't insurance cover this?
Only a very small amount is covered by insurance. Certain anti-fungals (Nystatin, Diflucan) are covered and some bloodwork is covered. IV therapy (Glutathione, Phosphatidylcholine, etc) is not covered under insurance and is the bulk of the cost when treating mold toxicity.
Why is it so much?
Treatments that are covered under insurance don't cure mold toxicity. Gabe was prescribed antifungals like Nystatin and Diflucan and a binder called Cholestyramine and its only allowed his health to improve slightly. After years of him being sick, we have decided to take a more aggressive approach by combining the Shoemaker protocol for mold toxicity treatment with IV therapy. The IV therapy is simply not covered under by any insurance and is the bulk of the cost.
Why don't you just sue the landlord?
We have a firm that is currently reviewing the case. However, we have no guarantee they will even take it because mold cases are extremely difficult to prove. Even if we do see a recovery it can take up to 2 years. That leaves us dealing with the immediate cost of treatment ourselves.
Why go to MD's that practice functional medicine?
We've done a mixture of traditional doctors and MD's that practice functional medicine. Dr. Daniel Tucker helped Gabe diagnose the mold toxicity but actually treating it wasn't really his expertise and he fell short. We've sought out doctors who specialize in mold toxicity and they are all MD's who focus on functional medicine.
I want to know more about mold toxicity, where do I learn?
You can learn more about mold toxicity and CIRS by reading this PDF: https://www.survivingmold.com/docs/OVERVIEW_OF_CIRS_2017_TANIO.PDF
