My Family’s Story

Today I want to tell you our VERY personal story of what my family went through.

In January 2020, right before COVID, we bought and moved into what we thought would be our forever home. Our dream home. The kitchen was big and beautiful, the yard was massive and grassy, and the location was great. We moved in, and for a couple of years, we were just fine.

About two years after moving in, mysterious health symptoms started creeping their way into each member of my family’s life. My beloved dog Finn, at just age 5, died of cancer. My stepdaughter got terrible whole body eczema. My husband developed pneumonia. My toddler developed tics, night sweats, crazy behavioral issues, separation anxiety, and skin issues. My baby was born premature and with kidney issues. But none were as affected as me—screaming headaches, whole body twitching, kidney problems, acne, hormone imbalances, vertigo, eye pain, tooth pain, C-section scar pain, tingling, numbness, feeling like bugs were crawling on my skin when they weren’t, anxiety, depression, and so so much more.

It was the most terrifying time in my life. What in the hell could be impacting all of us? I did not remotely think it could be the house. It was beautiful and freshly remodeled. A friend of a friend suggested I test for toxic mold. “Humor me,” he said. So I did—and the results changed the trajectory of my life. They were off the charts high. We later were able to piece together the story—it had rained on our house when we had no roof on, but insulation and drywall were up. The contractor painted over the wet spots, and proceeded to finish the remodel. So our entire attic, and entire chunks of wall cavities, had gotten soaked.

After many rounds of remediation, our family is finally doing well. I made so many mistakes and have so much perspective on this journey now. I am ready to put what I learned to good use and help others avoid the pitfalls that I fell into.

I firmly believe that anyone, given the right environment, can and will heal. I’ve seen it time and time again.

Thank you for being here.