Help me recover from toxic mold
Donation protected
I've had chronic pain for as long as I can remember. As early as second grade I began to feel muscle pain in my neck and it gradually spread through my entire body, progressively worsening as I got older. I received a diagnosis of fibromyalgia when I was nineteen, and while the pain has always been present and a significant part of my life, I still pushed through it and managed to the best of my ability.
Five years ago, I was living in a highly stressful and toxic situation with my family and chose to move away from them and into an apartment with a friend. The move was clear across the country and I came with little more than my laptop and cat. The move was initially beneficial because it meant I was farther away from my family and closer to my fiancee, who lived in British Columbia. The plan was to hang out with my friend for a while until my partner and I were ready to get married and move in together.
But then, about a year after I started living with my friend, my pain started getting worse. Much, much, much worse. Within that year I went from being a fairly active, health-conscious person who needed no medication and could jog a mile through the woods every other day to someone nearly incapacitated with pain, limping around with a cane and taking narcotics just to be able to barely function. Not only did the pain worsen but I’ve had inexplicable cognitive problems, including perpetual confusion and memory problems. It’s a constant struggle to fight through debilitating brain fog that not only makes concentration almost impossible but causes me to struggle to even think or speak coherently. I’ve lost more and more functionality with every year that passes and no one, not a single doctor has been able to figure out why.
After about two years living at the apartment, my roommate and I decided to move to a house, and after moving the furniture we realized that the walls were absolutely covered in black mold. The bathroom also had extensive water damage that never got fixed while we were there, and mold was everywhere. I knew that black mold had bad health effects but thought that because we were moving, things would get better. Unfortunately, the house that we live in now had an improperly constructed bathroom and also got extensively water damaged, and the repair guys found mold there too.
I did some research on the health effects of toxic mold and discovered that it can indeed cause fibromyalgia to become much worse. I finally got a doctor to test me for mold exposure and sure enough, I tested positive for HIGH to VERY HIGH amounts of a variety of toxic molds. The doctor told me that the only thing I can go is get the hell out of this house, but I have absolutely nowhere to go.
This illness has made me lose everything. I had to quit work and school and have been in so much pain I can barely take care of myself. My fiancee, after ten years of being together, decided to end our relationship because she didn’t want the responsibility of taking care of me, so I’ve just been stuck here living in my roommate’s house with no income and being a colossal burden on her and her family. My roommate is also chronically ill and simply can’t take care of me or support me anymore. My only hope is a favorable SSD decision following my hearing two months ago, and I’ve just been anxiously awaiting what happens and there’s no guarantee I’ll get it. No matter what, I have to get out of this environment or I’ll just keep getting sicker and sicker. My symptoms just recently started to get even worse and I have no idea what's going to happen to me.
Ultimately, I have three options:
1. Live in a hotel for a while. This will be expensive as hell but is probably the best and easiest option. If I stay at a decent one it’ll probably be kept clean and mold-free, and I can hang out and recover. I had to stay at hotels a few months ago when repairs on the bathroom were being done, and even after just two weeks I saw an improvement in my pain level. Of course, as soon as I came back home I felt like death again.
2. Somehow get an apartment. Probably the most expensive option, but the ideal one. As I said, I have no income unless I get on disability and even then it’ll be difficult to afford a place of my own, and low income units usually have very long waiting lists. I’ll also have to find somewhere that’s mold free. This is the best case scenario tho, and ultimately the goal no matter what eventually happens.
3. Move back in with my abusive family. The worst possible option, but the cheapest. I really can’t overstate how harmful this would be to my safety and mental health. I would prefer this to be the absolute last resort.
No matter what option I end up going with, I’m going to need funds. Treatment for this condition is extremely expensive and no one takes insurance, so I have that to worry about as well as living expenses, mountains of debt and somehow getting a car. Anything and everything helps. After suffering nonstop for five straight years I’m really, really ready for this to stop. I just want to be healthy and to have a normal life.
Five years ago, I was living in a highly stressful and toxic situation with my family and chose to move away from them and into an apartment with a friend. The move was clear across the country and I came with little more than my laptop and cat. The move was initially beneficial because it meant I was farther away from my family and closer to my fiancee, who lived in British Columbia. The plan was to hang out with my friend for a while until my partner and I were ready to get married and move in together.
But then, about a year after I started living with my friend, my pain started getting worse. Much, much, much worse. Within that year I went from being a fairly active, health-conscious person who needed no medication and could jog a mile through the woods every other day to someone nearly incapacitated with pain, limping around with a cane and taking narcotics just to be able to barely function. Not only did the pain worsen but I’ve had inexplicable cognitive problems, including perpetual confusion and memory problems. It’s a constant struggle to fight through debilitating brain fog that not only makes concentration almost impossible but causes me to struggle to even think or speak coherently. I’ve lost more and more functionality with every year that passes and no one, not a single doctor has been able to figure out why.
After about two years living at the apartment, my roommate and I decided to move to a house, and after moving the furniture we realized that the walls were absolutely covered in black mold. The bathroom also had extensive water damage that never got fixed while we were there, and mold was everywhere. I knew that black mold had bad health effects but thought that because we were moving, things would get better. Unfortunately, the house that we live in now had an improperly constructed bathroom and also got extensively water damaged, and the repair guys found mold there too.
I did some research on the health effects of toxic mold and discovered that it can indeed cause fibromyalgia to become much worse. I finally got a doctor to test me for mold exposure and sure enough, I tested positive for HIGH to VERY HIGH amounts of a variety of toxic molds. The doctor told me that the only thing I can go is get the hell out of this house, but I have absolutely nowhere to go.
This illness has made me lose everything. I had to quit work and school and have been in so much pain I can barely take care of myself. My fiancee, after ten years of being together, decided to end our relationship because she didn’t want the responsibility of taking care of me, so I’ve just been stuck here living in my roommate’s house with no income and being a colossal burden on her and her family. My roommate is also chronically ill and simply can’t take care of me or support me anymore. My only hope is a favorable SSD decision following my hearing two months ago, and I’ve just been anxiously awaiting what happens and there’s no guarantee I’ll get it. No matter what, I have to get out of this environment or I’ll just keep getting sicker and sicker. My symptoms just recently started to get even worse and I have no idea what's going to happen to me.
Ultimately, I have three options:
1. Live in a hotel for a while. This will be expensive as hell but is probably the best and easiest option. If I stay at a decent one it’ll probably be kept clean and mold-free, and I can hang out and recover. I had to stay at hotels a few months ago when repairs on the bathroom were being done, and even after just two weeks I saw an improvement in my pain level. Of course, as soon as I came back home I felt like death again.
2. Somehow get an apartment. Probably the most expensive option, but the ideal one. As I said, I have no income unless I get on disability and even then it’ll be difficult to afford a place of my own, and low income units usually have very long waiting lists. I’ll also have to find somewhere that’s mold free. This is the best case scenario tho, and ultimately the goal no matter what eventually happens.
3. Move back in with my abusive family. The worst possible option, but the cheapest. I really can’t overstate how harmful this would be to my safety and mental health. I would prefer this to be the absolute last resort.
No matter what option I end up going with, I’m going to need funds. Treatment for this condition is extremely expensive and no one takes insurance, so I have that to worry about as well as living expenses, mountains of debt and somehow getting a car. Anything and everything helps. After suffering nonstop for five straight years I’m really, really ready for this to stop. I just want to be healthy and to have a normal life.
Organizer
Candice Maria
Organizer
Spokane, WA