Meet Cristina

The following videos are from the Malachi’s Message podcast, Toxic Mold Sucks, and feature Cristina and Chris Greenfield. They share their incredible mold journey, how mold impacted their relationship, dividing them in ways they never imagined possible and overcoming it all. They share how mold exposure changed the health of their children, including an autism diagnoses.

If you've ever wondered what it looks like to "live in mold", let me tell you our story.

It looks like decorating and family memories. Birthday parties and Christmas. Swimming and butterfly gardens. It looks like home.

We were so proud when we bought that home in 2016.  We called it our "forever home". 

We couldn't see the mold. We couldn't smell the mold. In fact, we had no idea for 4 years. There were explanations for my daughters "sudden" autism diagnosis and her inability to sleep; friendly tips for her night terrors and waking up in blood curdling screams every night, ASD therapies, explanations for the imminent tantrums and speech delays, for the echolalia, special education and ARD meetings to discuss accommodations for her “disability”. Creams for the eczema, miralax for the constipation, Tylenol for the headaches, antidepressants, wine for mommy, on and on.

As for my husband and I? We probably just fell out of love…maybe we never really loved each other. Maybe a special needs kid and a new baby broke us. Maybe it’s a phase. Maybe the fighting was normal.

Maybe our animals just acted out for no reason. Maybe the dog’s cancer and incontinence were just a coincidence. Maybe my cats suddenly using the restroom outside of the litter box was just them acting out.

But we pushed and we worked. I was in great shape. I had excellent performance at work as a practicing attorney. After being a 14 year Army Veteran, my husband founded his own company while pursuing his bachelor's degree and taking care of two babies. We never rested. We always pushed. We didn’t work together, but we didn’t need to as long as each of us did our jobs to raise these kids. Maybe our relationship could be repaired once we got out of the baby years. Maybe we’d eventually divorce. Maybe that’s normal for dual-working families with kids. Is that what they mean by “hustle”?

This is what "living in mold" looked like for us. Mold did what it does--it broke us down, but it also eventually revealed to us our new life.  We don’t have near as much stuff (nor do we want it now), but we have our health. We didn’t own a home again for a long time, but we reclaimed our family and trust me, there was never a lack of love. 

Mold is a bad actor. It changes people and it breaks things down. It almost broke us, but we fought back by taking accountability, educating ourselves on how buildings sometimes fail and making poignant decisions to mitigate those risks.  I eventually founded Conscious Healthy Home in order to guide people towards healthier homes and healthier outcomes for themselves and their families. I joined as the VP and on the Board of Directors of Malachi's Message in 2023 to support this important cause with one of the people who I credit to saving my family's life (Emily Rachal) by sharing her story and validating ours when we were nothing but strangers. 

I believe that together we can make a difference, whether that is by raising awareness for stories like ours across the building industry and to other consumers, or by providing much needed financial assistance to those impacted like we once were.  

Once you experience a tragedy like mold, you have a choice.  My family and I chose to fight for ourselves, for our health, and for our wellbeing.  That's a choice I would make a thousand times again, despite the hardships.

I hope you will make the same choice if you find yourself at a similar crossroads.  You are worth it. 

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