Help Me Write My Post-Traumatic Success Story

I've always been passionate about discovering the root causes of mental, psychiatric, and neurological disorders. With a background in neuroscience and epidemiology, I call myself a Holistic Brain Health Practitioner and a medical intuitive. But starting in late 2021, a series of misfortunate events left me extremely sick, traumatized, and destitute.

The short version of my story:

In Jan of 2022, my cat and I escaped my rented home due to mold toxicity. She got very sick, and died from it, and shortly after, I started getting very sick too. I then bought my first home, and had to escape 2 weeks later due to mold coming from the attic and chimney. I couldn’t live in my condo for 7 months due to issues with remediations, and I developed sick building syndrome, non-stop symptoms, became immunocompromised, couldn't detox properly, and couldn’t work or use my computer or phone for 6 months. I couldn’t get the support I needed, and I’m in deep debt. I can use my computer now, but my health interferes with my ability to do my job. I need money to help pay for the remaining remediations, existing debt and to rebuild my business.

The details:

The troubles began when my easy-going beloved elderly cat, Tuk Tuk was losing her purr. She became paranoid, stopped playing, and was fearful of her environment. I kept finding toxins and pathogens in her body, leading to a relentless search for the source.

Unfortunately, my rented apartment turned out to be the culprit. From a used couch to the windows, radiators, and ceiling of my apartment, hidden hazards surrounded us. After Tuk Tuk developed severe breathing problems, we had to evacuate. This experience shattered my sense of security and prompted a decision to find a safe place to call my own.

After moving to a temporary location, Tuk Tuk's health continued to decline. She developed severe infections, including a horrific abscess on her ear. All of her bones, meridians, organs and glands were getting infected! I worked with her around the clock to help her heal, but I started to get very worried that I too would become sick from all the pathogens she had. I had to let her go. I still miss her. She was my soulmate kitty.

Shortly after she passed, I started having similar symptoms, minus the oozing ear. The problems started in my skull. When I slept on a pillow, my blood vessels in the back of my head felt suffocated. I had a lot of pain in the back of my head and skull. Despite my terrifying health concerns, I believed I had both the skills and determination to recover.

I found a condo I loved in early May 2022, when the interest rates were going up, and the competition was fierce to buy. This condo offered peekaboo views and the sound of a babbling stream below, and beech trees extend towards my windows to shield me from the hot summer sun. Knowing how nurturing nature can be, I was desperate for a place that could help recover from all my loss and heartbreak. I outbid 11 offers to get it, drained my finances, and got a 16K loan from my mom to afford it. At the time, I believed I could easily pay her back within the year. I couldn’t have imagined that things could get any worse.

Two weeks after I moved in, on a night of torrential rain, I had to evacuate. It was months before I could return.

This condo which appeared to be in great shape, made me extremely sick due to mold in the attic and chimney, and deadly parasites in the hot water heater.

Sick Building Syndrome

I moved frequently over the next few months going from one AirB&B to another as housing was tight and it was impossible to determine when I could return home. I got sicker and sicker with all the stress. My kidneys were often in a lot of pain, and I was clearly becoming more immunocompromised and unable to handle my environment. I felt sparks flying from my hands, and feet and then my hair. I was intuiting that pathogens were leaving my skin, infecting my environment, and reinfecting me. My clothing kept getting infected, until I finally found a laundry softener that kept my clothing mold resilient. My tissues would retract from clothing, paper bags, opening cupboards and books and more. I couldn’t feel safe anywhere. I was experiencing swimming sensations in my head, and chest regularly. My digestive system was a mess. My symptoms became relentless and I felt like I was playing a constant game of wackamole with my health. For about 9 months, I was taking so many supplements that it took me 2 hours to get through just one dose! I was spending about $100 a day on supplements! I was afraid to go anywhere without bags of supplements that I needed to address the relentless symptoms. My life became completely focused on trying to heal and any trip outside the air B&B was to get either food or supplements.

Everything I tried to do invited another opportunity for the pathogens in my body to terrorize me. I didn’t feel safe washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning, taking a shower, interacting with people, leaving my room or going into public buildings. Symptoms lasted well into the wee hours of the morning, and were so terrifying that I didn’t believe I could survive if I let myself sleep. I completely lost trust in my body to keep me safe. I was trying to kill the pathogens, but I couldn’t keep up. There were too many, and they were working too quickly. In July I ended up in the ER for heart problems twice over 2 weeks.

EMF sensitivity

I started to feel more functional in the late summer after finding my naturopath, doing some hyperbaric treatments, and using Chinese and Ayuvedic medicine. I tried to get back to work, but it became dangerous to interact with my phone and computer. I would feel way too much movement in my chest, and up and down my Central Meridian from my neck to my sternum. It was as if my infected cells were running in terror, and then they’d get stuck and I’d feel what the Chinese call “stagnant Qi”. I would also feel sparks flying in my temporal joints, palms and fingertips when interacting with my phone. These symptoms were also triggered by computer sounds. My chest hurt when I faced blue light, LEDs and electronic screens. I kept trying to mitigate the problem, but my issues with tech continued to get worse.

Remediations complete?

In late August, I was told the remediations were complete, but as soon as I reentered my main living area of my condo, I knew it wasn’t safe. Even with a full hazmat suit and mask, I was experiencing symptoms.

For the next few months, when I wasn’t fighting for my life, I tried to figure out where the remaining problems were in my condo. I had to throw a ton of things away, and enlisted the support of as many friends and family as I could to help me make my place safe. Because there was so little that I could do myself, and my family is in Maine, I quickly exhausted my friends. In addition to constantly battling symptoms, I couldn’t interact with my things, my computer or phone safely. I tried to find support from the government, but the only thing I could get was food stamps. I just didn’t fit into any category that is funded, but I also couldn’t be on the computer or phone long enough to find support. I was also stymied by lack of funds, and an HOA that still won’t let me send anyone up the attic or roof to figure out if the original problems were properly addressed. I was feeling extremely desperate and hopeless.

Returning home

After many months of challenges and exhausting my resources, In Jan of this year, with the help of friends, we managed to make my condo safe enough to move back. A month later, I found Dr. Wang, my Chinese medicine doctor. Shortly after, I realized I have porphyria, a condition that complicates detoxification and is a root cause of my environmental illness. With the support of Dr. Wang, hyperbaric oxygen treatments, and an incredible amount of work on my part to get my body to detox safely, I am healing.

Help me help others with environmental illnesses

Dr. Steven Rochlitz believes that porphyria is a major cause of environmental illnesses, and both Dr. Wang and I agree. In the process of all the work I’ve had to do to heal, I’ve made many discoveries which I’ll be using to help my clients. But I also have many ideas for research I’d like to do to see if we can develop safe and effective strategies to help everyone who struggles with environmental illnesses.

I'm determined to get back to public speaking and advocate for those affected by environmental illnesses. There are so few resources and support for those of us impacted by mold and I can’t think of any disaster or illness that compares in it’s ability to ruin a person’s life.

I finally am able to use my computer and phone, and am feeling well enough to see clients again on good days. But I have other days where I’m still experiencing symptoms of lack of oxygen in my chest that interferes with my ability to work. This makes it hard to fully commit to rebuilding my practice.

Why I need your help

Meanwhile, I’m deeply in debt and am stymied by lack of funds to finish the remediations to make my home safe. Plus my Seattle City Light bills reached $370 over the winter, and I have to figure out what caused them to get so high. Since I’ve been able to use my computer in May, I found and have applied to 2 programs that help low income people with renovations and the Seattle Weatherization program that I should qualify for. But funding is limited, there are long wait times, and they have a lot of restrictions on what they can do. Because the HOA requires me to use a company that is bonded, licensed and insured for anything that is done in the attic and roof, I will need to hire professionals to address the remaining issues with my chimney and ventilation.

I need to secure funds to cap my chimney (estimated at $1200), renovate my fireplace and wall and ceiling above it. These areas still are not safe for me and are behind plastic. I also need to secure enough funds to hire a professional to do an energy assessment (estimate $500). As per the HOA, I will have to replace my windows in the next year ($7500). Currently, I owe $13,250 in medical and dental expenses, I owe a contractor $1764.80 for renovating the laundry room, about $5250 in federal taxes, and I owe my family $30,000. I’m still struggling to pay my mortgage and HOA, utilities and for basic expenses. I don't know what other investments I'm going to need to make my place more energy efficient. Its going to take awhile for me to rebuild my business as a healer, and I have to figure out how to pay my bills until I’m able to work reliably.

By sharing my story and collaborating with other healers, I hope to make a positive impact in the lives of those facing similar challenges. Your support will enable me to continue my healing journey, raise awareness for this misunderstood condition, and continue to develop strategies to help those who struggle from similar tragedies.

9/20 update:

I am so grateful for the support I've gotten from friends and family! Thank you!

I've been struggling to provide an update because I wanted to be able to provide good news and honestly I hate asking for money. But since I wrote this page, my symptoms were too disruptive to work. About 50% of the time, I had non-stop symptoms that would last between 12-14 hrs! I kept having to cancel appointments and have now been banned from 2 dentists for not being able to show up.

I realized that a big reason for why I was taking so long to heal was because my bones had been so compromised by this illness, and I could no longer make stem cells in the bones in my chest. This lead me to a company that helps me make younger stem cells. I'm now using several of their patches and saw instant benefits. Ever since I started using them, I've been able to semi-function for about 95% of the time. I am still regularly interrupted by symptoms, but I can resolve them much more quickly and then get back to what I was doing. But importantly, I don't have to cancel appointments. But it does make it impossible to be 100% present for clients.

The good news is that this company is 1000% aligned with what my company is about, and I've joined the company to distribute their products. It's a better way to generate income given my current health challenges. I think it's a fabulous investment and use of my time, but don't know how long it will take for me to be able to make enough to live on, or to repay my growing debts.

My mom is helping me pay for my windows (thank you mom!) , and thanks to your help, I've capped my chimney.

The bad news is that I'm in further debt. I now owe $15,800 in medical expenses and my debt to my family has grown. I've been without income due to my health challenges, and my healthcare expenses are about $600/mo. I need to develop new methods to generate income with my business as a Holistic Brain Health practitioner, because my primary way (public speaking) doesn't work with my symptoms. I'd like to join my friend's Expert Up club for $600/ quarter that would help me with my marketing and connect me with other business owners where we'd provide mutual support. It sounds like an amazing opportunity, and I do feel like it will pay for itself, and help set up my business to thrive in the long run.

Again I hate asking for money, but I really could use more help. If you would be willing to share this with groups that want to help others, please do.

update 5/5/2024:

Unfortunately, my reprieve from non-stop symptoms didn't last long. Until mid April, I was still having non-stop symptom days about every other day! So I was barely able to work. I stopped trying to schedule anything with anyone. I was too unreliable!

Until just recently, everything I did to fix my problem helped bring me closer to health, but did nothing to impact my symptoms! It was a so frustrating!

In Jan, I found a couple of naturopaths that have helped me heal, and figure out a little more about why I've been so immunocompromised. Then recently I found that the Sambuzon Dragon Fruit drink helps my symptoms more than anything has! Between that and a better binder I found for the mycotoxins (and a couple of other things) are really helping me function again, I just started working again!

But, it's going to take awhile to rebuild my healing business after being so sick for sooo long! Plus my health can still interfere with my ability to function which compromises my reliability and reputation. So in meantime I'm trying to build residual income with network marketing, but that takes time to build.

My income is no where what I need to pay the bills. And I have some big ones coming up. I still have to finish paying for the remediations done in 2022 (I owe $1765), and I still owe $15,000 in credit card debt. Plus I still have a lot of unsolved medical issues and I'm going to need more testing that isn't covered by insurance. I probably will need to see doctors from the Center for Complex diseases, and they also don't take insurance. I also have to reinvest in my business to get it going. I need to pay for tabling fees, printing costs, web development, and a new powerful expensive healing device that will help me serve those who aren't comfortable with what I do as a medical intuitive.

I've got great business ideas and am working as much as I can to get back on my feet! But I've been relentlessly sabotaged by symptoms and an ineffective medical system that can barely help people with complex immunological conditions caused by toxic mold and parasites! And it's so hard to make money as a business owner when you don't have money to spend on the things you need to run the business!

There are no grants for people like me. Believe me, I've looked!

If you have the funds, I would be so appreciative of your help!

Thank you for your support!

-Tina, Seattle, WA