The Great Masquerader

When someone says, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” my initial reaction is to laugh, cry and have an overwhelming desire to throat punch the speaker. My children hallucinated, had bloody noses, unknown neurological issues, exhaustion, headaches, digestion issues and speech regression. My husband had uncharacteristic flares of fatigue, anger and ended up have surgery on both wrists. I was told I needed to have a partial hysterectomy, was taken by ambulance three times for my throat closing (not what you want your children to witness), struggled to form words, had extreme migraines, was angry and fatigued all the time…but yah this is supposed to make us stronger – or kill us.

I left a vocation in teaching, to follow my husband to the great state of Texas. He had an apprenticeship lined up and we thought this was the best move for our family. I was in my third trimester and let me tell you things are bigger in Texas. The humidity is bigger. The bugs are bigger. The amount of turmoil and pain was bigger. When our second daughter, through and through a Texan, turned one we moved into a two-bedroom apartment. This was a huge move up from our 700sq.ft studio apartment. We were thrilled!!

The thrill left with the hundreds of doctors’ appointments that existed in the first six months of moving into the 2 bedroom apartment.

The thrill left as my husband had to go on unpaid leave, to have surgery on both wrists.

The thrill left as my daughters clung to me 24/7, scared another ambulance would be coming to take mommy away.

The thrill left as my throat closed.

The thrill left as my youngest got kicked out of daycare because she was a “risk” as her unknown neurological issues were causing her to fall and walk into walls.

The thrill left as I suffered from extreme hives for one month and then minor hives for three months.

The thrill left as my daughters and I returned from a bakery, to hear that we could not enter our apartment ever again.

Within minutes, we were homeless. My husband still with both hands wrapped from surgery, was homeless. We had a 1-year-old and 3-year-old homeless.

We called a friend and slept on their floor. We went to Walmart at 11:30pm and bought one outfit for each member of our family.

My husband still had physical therapy and spent the following four months sleeping on friends’ couches. My extended family flew my daughters and I to stay with my parents.

We had met Toxic Mold in the face and felt that it had defeated us. Mold – 1 Family – 0

Fires, floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes people understand. Of course, you lose everything if a tornado takes on your home. But Toxic Mold, that’s legend, right?

The following years included genuine PTSD, thousands of dollars being paid to doctors who did not help, the feeling of hopelessness and the feeling that fear was crashing over us like a tidal wave.

Fear knows it can succeed when you feel alone. We felt very alone.

Feeling alone is a lie and it is a deceptive power. One that must be fought. We felt alone, but we were not alone. We had friends who gathered around us and helped us get back on our feet. We had amazing souls give our daughters toys and clothes. We had family let us live with them and help us get to doctor’s appointments (they still do). But had we felt alone, Mold would have won.

We tried to file a lawsuit. We looked at an Insurance claim. We realized quickly that mold again was winning. Our lawsuit was dismissed. No insurance claim possible. Mold – 3 Family – 0

Thankfully, instead of rolling over and letting Toxic Mold laugh at us. We chose to stand and fight back. NO child should know what it is like to lose everything instantly. NO family should be as sick as we were (or worse) and not receive proper medical attention. NO ONE SHOULD EVER FEEL ALONE.

There are amazing people fighting to have laws and building codes changed. We wanted to have feet on the ground, helping people, bringing hope. Thus, I co-founded Malachi’s Message. A non-profit that brings financial assistance and hope to those who are staring mold in the face or feeling like Mold has sucked the last breath out of them. Malachi’s Message offers seven forms of assistance that people can apply for: Medical bills, Temporary Living, Mold Assessment, Home Remediation, Furniture Replacement, Toy Replacement and Clothing Replacement.

Mold – 3 Malachi’s Message – The thousands of people we will help