Maren’s Mold Nightmare

(Please watch the short video to hear more of my story and see photo/video of what I have been through)

At the end of 2022, I unknowingly moved into an apartment with several types of toxic mold including the dreaded "black mold" Stachybotrys.

What started out as horrible skin rashes in the fall of 2022, turned into digestive, respiratory, reproductive, and cognitive symptoms that landed me at urgent care 4 times in Janurary, then the emergency room, and then ultimately admitted to the hospital for 5 days in February 2023.

Much scarier than the actual hospitalization itself was the fact that after 5 days in the only level one trauma care hospital in the state, no one knew what was wrong with me.

Just when I thought things couldn't get much scarier, what I now know was a serious fungal infection spread to my eyes and would severely impact my vision for the coming months to the point.

The sicker I got, the more time I spent at home resting, which meant I was just getting sicker since it was the apartment itself that was making me sick.

My desparation led me to do my own investigation and open a panel in the ceiling above my shower only to find enormous amounts of mold. Curiosity took hold of me. I tore off the floor boards and rolled back the flooring only to find….more mold. Lab testing of my apartment identified these molds as Stachybotrys, Penicillium, Aspergiullus, Fusarium, and Alternaria -- all of which are considered toxic molds.

The results matched what was eventually found in my bloodwork which was that I had a serious fungal infection in addition to dangerous levels of mycotoxins, which are mold-created poisons, in my body. Mycotoxins are in fact so poisonous to the human body that they have been used as biochemical warfare in the Vietnam War and by countries like Iran.

I had to wear a hazmat suit, mask, and goggles just to be able to save some of my possessions from the apartment. My renter's insurance "does not cover mold". The apartment complex denies the problem entirely. There are technically no laws around mold in New Mexico, so I have been unable to find legal representation as it is an extremely difficult case to win.

Now it's been 10 weeks since I've been out of this apartment, but the levels in my body of these mycotoxins still remains dangerously high. I have been to 47 doctors appointments in 2023 and filled 43 prescriptions.

I am still sick.

I need a safe place to live.

I need more medical care.

I need to pay off bills that I already have while I have been unable to work fulltime due to being sick.

Asking for help is not something that comes easily to me as I've always prided myself on my resourcefulness and my independence, however I am at a breaking point. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide. If you cannot contribute, please consider sharing this.

I have a YouTube channel, Maren Makes It, on which I plan to share more of this journey eventually. If you would like to hear more details and updates, please feel free to follow along there. I have documented a lot of this nightmare in the hopes that it will save others from what I’ve been through. I just have not been able to edit any of this footage yet.

—xoxo Maren