Some know and some assume…
Written by Mindy Carpenter
Mindy and James are currently battling mold illness, navigating how to move forward, how to get out of mold, and learning very quickly how challenging the journey can be.
Our Mold Story
What do you do, where do you go when you have no safe place to sleep, to live, to wash your clothes. Do you go with no sleep or do you pitch a tent outside? That is our dilemma this past month.
I’ve learned overtime to get to the point in a story within the first few sentences as people won’t read the entire thing and start commenting so here it goes. Our house has been leaking for four years. Our home, our dream property that we sacrificed for and saved up to buy, and built other incomes to have greater purchasing power.
Four years later I am too sick to shower without the help of my dad‘s hospice chair, and that’s not my point - I’ve overcome way more in my life. I don’t need your pity. I don’t need your sorrys (I’m not being rude), but I do need people to be aware as we are currently becoming advocates for this movement.
Are you thinking I have cancer or I’m on drugs or not taking care of myself or I have mental issues, etc. etc.? Sure, as I would myself, so I am here to say I was blessed to be living in a water damaged building. I get to heal. I get to rid my body of bad decisions, toxic environments, perfumes, candles, and start over on my health, and to advocate for people who are lost and I do not want my family or friends to suffer.
What is mold? It's everywhere, we breathe it daily so of course you're crazy Mindy, I breathe it everyday and I’m not sick, why doesn’t James have the same symptoms as you? So go to the doctor and take medication, you will be fine.
What is the significance of a water damaged building? We have had a leak for years and I don’t see black or smell it and I am not sick, as people will say. Do you have the gene that allows you to extract the toxicities out of your body? Do you immediately know when you have cancer?
Water damaged buildings as opposed to seeing mold growth or having a water leak can be two totally different things. Mold is considered a biochemical warfare, black mold that is a.k.a. Stachybotrys. Do you know about Aspergillus Ochratoxin, and what it does to your brain, liver kidneys, all organs in your internal body? Why haven’t I slept for days? Why do I always wake up at 3 AM? Because my liver is trying to detoxify, but my moldy environment won’t let it. Why do I still have a rash for two years straight on my leg? Topical and oral medication did not work. My persistent eye infection in my right eye with no scratch or foreign material just a rash to where I couldn’t open my eyes from the infection.
When it came to five stairs to three stairs to two, I had to stop and take a break and if I could put in new AA batteries, I could go for another two hours before a break. Chronic fatigue syndrome, of course I’m fatigued, but why, why is it when I have a little stress in my life from people dying that constitutes that I am depressed. Thankfully I knew that’s not what I needed. This was a temporary grief. I’m not against medication. I’m not against doctors. This is my story. This is my journey that I am currently living and will for some time. Take it as you wish. Take it as you like. Be mad. Be thankful. That’s up to you.
My brain fog was so severe. I would pull over on my way to work to try to figure out how to get there. What’s my name? Sometimes I couldn’t remember that. Learning a new job took three times as long because I couldn’t use my brain. I have a hard time forming sentences, this story had to be retyped several times. I do know that the doctors that have lived through mold toxicity and quit their medical practices to start a free clinic for “moldies”. These amazing people were called to bring awareness as they went through it themselves and didn’t know. As they start this movement of awareness of what mold can do to your body they keep getting shut down!!!
What’s wrong with just peeing in a cup, why is this not standard procedure at the Drs office? You know about EMF’s, now look up how mold reacts to that. Why is it scary for people? Is it the unknown or is it the known? I’ll move on from that.
The past two months James and I put our bed in an office that we had built in our shop thinking that would be a safe place as I was able to sleep two good nights, and a week later I’m back to not sleeping and I still have my rash and by the way, I haven’t been able to work. The struggles of finding a doctor that understands mold and a lawyer and a contractor to move forward in this process is enough to make you wanna give up and even makes you a little crazy because when you hit 100 brick walls, you kind of feel a little down and defeated. You have to either know somebody or be someone or you have to not have to work to dedicate the time to call to ask to plead and beg for a miracle.
Four years later we’re just now starting this process. Four years of slowly getting sick and not even knowing it, thinking, my rash was chigger bites because I weed the yard all the time. My rash on my wrist was from chiggers because I pulled weeds in my garden and worked in a dusty environment. Fatigue, worn out from dealing with death and saying goodbye to my parents, my life that can cause sleepless nights, stress, right? Btw, we have to get rid of all of our belongings and start over so you might as well send the tornadoes this way (actually, please don’t).
We are here to fight!!! The time when I woke up and I bounced off of every wall for two days from vertigo, that’s when we said it’s time to start getting treated for the toxicity and detox, sacrifice our lives, and get on top of things again. I honestly thought this year was going to be great. James’s gut was right, that's why we sacrificed for him to start driving a truck for Dot, which was the absolute best decision in our lives. We always know that we can learn from our hardships. It only makes us better people and stronger. Thankfully God sent us a very good friend that is a mold survivor and believer in functional wellness (it’s not voodoo y’all) it’s using the appropriate supplements/herbs and a whole lot more to get your body balanced to be able to fight cancers, etc. We were LOST and about to be referred to an allergist. I have to say our employer-covered physician is great. I even told James before he started at Dot that their doctor is wonderful and cares and is easy to talk to. She listened to me, and didn’t laugh in my face when I told her that we had mold in our bodies nor did she try to throw an antidepressant down my throat and she was trying with her knowledge to help us. The reason I say an allergist is because there is a story regarding this topic and I hope everyone will take 10 minutes to listen to one story, and I guarantee you will want to listen to them all.
Malachi’s Message Foundation’s mission and YouTube channel/Podcast Toxic Mold Sucks, is the only hope and resources we had a few weeks ago. The story a mother told about her child’s skin falling off, they couldn’t wear clothes. They were referred to an allergist to receive allergy shots and still with no relief spent $7,000 to learn that they could detox for mold toxicity and her children are now playing sports and going to birthday parties. Two months later.
Do you think your child is protected in the placenta if you have mold exposure? The unexplained can be explained. It's just scary and I will just say this… hold my green celery juice and my organic grass fed beef stick and watch this. Below are a few books (I never read books), I do now, on resources, testing and pictures for confirmation. This story is not directed at one specific person or group, like I said this is my life what I am going through at this very moment.
This is not even a quarter of what is going on; this is just a little snapshot of our story.
Again, it’s just for people to be aware I’m not asking for anything, but if I can help one person then my struggles were well worth it.
This is what I have been told and what has been said to me while on this journey. Maybe these resources will help you, too.
Killer house - Shemane Nugent - BOOK
Dr. Jill Crista - Break the Mold - BOOK
Dr. Richie Shoemaker - Mold Warriors - BOOK
Dr. Neil Nathan - Heal your Body - BOOK
MalachisMessage.org
Toxic Mold sucks - YouTube
…my brain fog is so bad right now, I’ve asked for this to be grammatically edited before publishing. Thank you for helping me share my story in the best light possible.
With Love,
Mindy
