Toxic Mold Stories – The Davis Family

I believe there is value in sharing our toxic mold stories. The Davis family agrees.

In 2018, my husband and I learned that our home was harboring a hidden danger. For four years, I’d been chronically ill with a myriad of seemingly disconnected symptoms. When we discovered the toxic mold hidden in our walls, all of the symptoms suddenly made sense. We did not own that home. It was a parsonage which belonged to the church where my husband served as pastor.

During that dark time, someone put me in touch with another pastor’s wife. Her family had also been affected by mold toxicity and lead poisoning from a church parsonage. She came along beside me. I cried. She listened. I asked questions. She gave advice and direction. Together, we shared an experience that most could not begin to comprehend.

Since then, I’ve come to know NINE different families, all in Lutheran ministry positions, who have experienced a nearly identical situation. Like the pastor’s wife who walked with me, I now listen and share our family’s experience. I’ve developed a unique sort of friendship with these women….people I likely would not have met without our shared experience.

I’d like to use this platform to share some of the stories of these women and their families. Their stories, along with my family’s story, can help to raise awareness of the dangers of toxic mold. Buildings in disrepair pose a great danger to the inhabitants. I once had no idea just how dangerous a home could be.

THE DAVIS FAMILY

For this first story, I’m sharing the words of Maggie Davis. Her husband, Aaron Davis, serves as the operations manager at Camp Trinity: The Lutheran Camp on Petit Jean Mountain in Morrilton, Arkansas. The Davis family is currently in the thick of mold trauma. They are living what I look back on as the darkest days of my life. There is a lot of fear and a lot of unknowns, even as they trust the Lord to provide. Please read on as Maggie shares their experience in her own words.

A HOME ON THE MOUNTAIN

Four years ago, my husband and I joined my parents in the ministry of Camp Trinity on Petit Jean Mountain. It has been an amazing opportunity for my family. 

The camp provides our housing, for which we have been extremely grateful. However, the age and condition of the camp house means it is no longer safe for my family, for reasons I’ll explain below. With the board’s approval, the camp launched a campaign to raise funds for a new home. We’ve raised enough money for the down payment and site work; the estimated delivery date is mid to late November. Currently, we are staying offsite.

THE DAVIS FAMILY’S SYMPTOMS

Shortly after moving into the house, my infant daughter, Jane, contracted infant botulism. It is usually caused by ingesting the toxin in airborne spores. She was hospitalized at Children’s, received the anti-toxin, and had a miraculous recovery.

Other members of my family have had increased allergies since living here. But it is Lottie, my nine-year-old daughter, who has experienced a dramatic deterioration in her health over the past four years.

LOTTIE’S SYMPTOMS

Lottie has always had occasional migraines that cause nausea, but they have become more frequent and intense. Additionally, her headaches have been joined by a host of new symptoms, like:

• Chronic fatigue, even unable to go on walks with the family; 
• Joint and muscle pain in her legs;
• New allergies, now breaking out in hives around horses, dogs, and cats, and having reactions to almonds, apples, peaches, etc.;
• Heightened allergic reactions, such as a poison ivy reaction which landed her in the ER last year;
• Weakened immune system leaving her more sick and keeping her ill long past the rest of the family; and
• Severe brain fog, so that she struggles to focus, remember things and even finish sentences. 

I didn’t connect her symptoms for several years. After all, some days she seemed fine, so we tried to manage the bad days as best as we could. However, in February I grew concerned as she increasingly spent three or more days a week exhausted, weak, pale, and nauseous. My previously active daughter was unable to do anything for more than an hour without being exhausted and in pain for the rest of the day. Over the next several months, we visited multiple doctors who ordered many, many tests. One specialist suspected Lottie had Lyme disease and was shocked when the test came back negative. 

This summer, Lottie had to leave her camp session early due to another episode of extreme fatigue and nausea; she slept for 18 hours straight. And still we had no answers.

CONNECTING THE DOTS

After this, I was given the contact information of a pastor’s wife who got very ill from living in a house with toxic mold. In April, we’d discovered mold in the wall of the kids’ bedroom from a water leak in the bathroom next door, but we didn’t know the extent of it. I thought mold might lead to respiratory issues like the chronic cough Lottie and one of my other children developed this past winter. But I hadn’t considered a possible connection to Lottie’s primary symptoms.

I spoke with the pastor’s wife, and after hearing her story I had our house tested for mold toxicity. While waiting on the results of the ERMI mold test, I learned more about chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS). Its symptoms matched Lottie’s. CIRS can occur from a tick bite infected with Lyme.

Or prolonged exposure to toxic mold.

On the ERMI scale, a score above a 2 can pose health risks for someone with CIRS; a score ranging from 5 to 20 makes remediation necessary.

On Aug. 3rd, our results came back; the house scored 28.7. The report listed 36 toxic molds, several of them at 1,000 times the normal amount. The recommendation was to vacate the premises immediately and find a new home.

“WE CANNOT TAKE THAT RISK”

The levels of toxins in our house are unhealthy for anyone, but beyond the house, they have contaminated our things. Mold spores produce mycotoxins which infiltrate everything porous, including plastic and wood. It cannot be cleaned with bleach or vinegar or alcohol or borax.

One in four people have a genetic determinant preventing them from filtering out toxins effectively; living in a highly toxic environment means their toxin cup is constantly overflowing, causing new inflammatory responses which get progressively worse. My husband and I prayed and listened and decided our belongings were not salvageable. If we move our possessions into a new clean space, we run the risk of the mold colonizing and contaminating our new home. For Lottie’s health, we cannot take that risk.

Our toys had to be dumped. Our games and puzzles. Special things made by the kids, years of school projects, souvenirs they saved up their money to buy, treasured gifts from others. All of our clothes. Our couches and beds and rugs and blankets and bookshelves.

Our books, all 1,300+ of them. That was the hardest for me. As a homeschooling mother of five, I had come to depend on my home library. We had books signed by Madeline L’Engle, and books that belonged to my mother when she was little. Many books were out of print and can no longer be purchased new. But books are very moldy and impossible to effectively clean. 

I have always been a thrifter, getting my books and clothes second hand, but we can no longer accept used items. Many homes have undetected mold, and Lottie’s reaction to it actually will be greater once she has been out of the toxic environment. We can’t risk the possibility of contaminated items. 

PROCESSING THE LOSS

I have talked with people who lost their homes in a fire, and they all say it feels like they lost a family member. I understand that now. A few weeks ago, my mom and I suited up in Tyvek suits, respirators, gloves, and goggles and began bagging things up. It was harder than I thought it would be, going through all of the special little notes and baby’s first mementos we are losing. Understanding insurance won’t pay for replacing our belongings. Knowing we will still be monitoring our child’s health. Hoping this enormous sacrifice will be worth it and others will understand our loss.

But after the decision was made and things were cleared out, I was filled with peace. As my parents shared stories of others who were praying for us, I felt comfort. And as Jesus’ love has been showered on us already through the hands and feet of His people, I have been humbled. This has provided a wonderful opportunity to show my children what the Body of Christ does.

My children have responded to this drastic change with surprising grace. We’ve read stories of pioneers who started their journeys with wagons full of special treasures, only to arrive at their destinations with little more than each other and the clothes on their backs. Like them, we will replace our household items when the new home arrives, but we will be content to have much less.

I believe there will be many hidden blessings in this loss. We give thanks in all things and rejoice in our sufferings because it has opened up a way for God to reveal Himself to us more fully. And we are grateful for all in the Body who have blessed us and continue to bless us. 

A PASSAGE TO REMEMBER

One of the passages my children memorized last year was Ephesians 3:20-21. The whole passage is worth a read right now, but I close with the last two verses: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”

A WORD FROM JEN…

Please share this story boldly. In the sharing of this family’s story, and my family’s story, there is help for those who don’t yet know the dangers of toxic mold. With our stories, we can help to prevent this loss for other families.