My STory

Finally, we found out that Alex tested very high on the scale for Mold Toxin Illness.  The Dr told us he was  exposed to mold toxins  either in our house, at school, or in our cars.  We didn't believe it was in our house but we needed to be sure...  So we called in an air quality management company to test the air and we've been on a roller coaster ride ever since!

Although we were completely unaware... 

We learned we had been living and quarantining through the COVID Pandemic in a toxic house!  We learned our house had toxic mold spores at varying levels in all rooms called Aspergillus.  We immediately moved out of our house and into a rental and we enlisted the services of an IICRC-certified mold remediation company.

It wasn't very long after finding out about the toxic air in our home that I realized that Alex and I's mysterious medical issues may be connected!  

So I was then tested for Mold Toxin Illness as well...  The test results I received are included for reference.  As you can see, I too  tested positive for exposure to mold toxins in all 5 categories! 

I am now also on a treatment plan for mold toxin illness.  Which includes 3 medications to heal my liver  and later I will be on 5 more medications that will bind to the toxins in my GI Tract and prevent them from being recirculated through my liver and intestines.  It will take several months maybe even years until we are on a road to recovery!

Our home has been in remediation for several weeks!  We have lived in two rental homes and we are moving to a 3rd temporary home in September. 

Through this process, we have learned that our master bathroom was actually slowly sucking the life out of us!  Our shower was encased in Stachybotrys (all inside the walls).  However; we learned that even if the actual mold spores are inside the walls the toxins (which actually make people sick) referred to as mycotoxins are so small they can find their way into your home without you even knowing.  They travel through light switches and even outlets!

It's important to also note that; although we had our air quality tested specifically for  the purposes of detecting mold, Stachybotrys did not  show up in the test results!  We only learned about the presence of Stachybotrys after my health test indicated that I had off-the-chart levels of Stachybotrys toxins in my system.  

From there, I contacted the remediation company (that had already started removing walls in our house) which resulted in them tape testing inside the walls and ultimately confirming that Chaetomium was on the framing which would lead them to believe Stachybotrys was on the dry wall.  Sadly, the drywall had already been removed otherwise that would have been tested too! 

My take away learning from this extra wrinkle was... Air quality companies test for the presence of mold spores; which is different than testing for toxins.  I also learnedthat Stachybotrys mold spores are heavy so are often missed when the air is tested!  So you can have a house full of Stachybotrys toxins but a negative mold test! To me, this seems like an important detail since Stachybotrys is a very dangerous toxic black mold and in our situation we were operating under the assumption that we didn't have black mold and the related toxins! But we actually did!

When remediation is done we will basically have no ceilings in the first floor of our house, no rugs left anywhere in our house, a gutted master bathroom and a gutted kitchen... And, we will be in desperate need of a contractor! 

I will add a photo album to the end of this story so you can see the after math of this unbelievable situation!

I was provided this chart that explains the symptoms and diseases that mold toxin illness can be associated with.  

Two of us are being treated for mold toxin illness and we are moving forward to have the rest of the family tested.

Our Osteopath told us that our youngest son is a hero!  He saved our family and I hope by sharing this story we can save other families too!