Medical Nightmares of Mold

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Medical Nightmares of Mold

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You know what mold can do to a house.

But you won't believe what it can do to your body!

Friday night at 11, Action News looks at a medical nightmare that could grow

right under your nose.

" I'm constantly coughing green.My arms twitched.I'm basically dying and no

one is doing anything. "

How hard is it to catch?

And can your doctor even help?

Find out what you need to know about Mold!

Friday on Action News at 11, on 6ABC. A Lancaster County man discovered

after years of unexplained illnesses that the air he was breathing in his

own home was literally killing him.

It's a real life horror story. The family that lived in this house literally

ran for their lives. The house is possessed. Not by invisible spirits, but

by monster mold. It has invaded every corner of the house, chewing its way

through wood cabinets in the basement. Seeping through the walls and

ceilings. Even crawling down the pull string on this basement light fixture.

And almost killing one of the family members.

Farkas/HOMEOWNER:

" I mean, I was going down. I mean I was sick. My eyes were all red. I mean,

I felt like I was dying. "

Farkas struggled with a mystery illness for seven years. He bounced

from doctor to doctor.

" The doctor kept telling me that he felt I was just overdoing it. "

" And he said, I think you have pleurisy. "

" And told me that I have pneumonia. "

" I'm in extreme pain. The two doctors are disagreeing. "

He was in and out of the emergency room.

" At this point, I can't walk. I can't move. I have extreme chest pain,

extreme back pain. "

It went on like that for seven years. No one could figure it out. Matt lost

his job. Both he and his wife started questioning their own sanity.

Farkas/WIFE:

" Sometimes we were looking at ourselves saying, are we crazy, are we making

this up. "

Matt and were desperate for answers. He finally went to see a

pulmonologist At The University Of Pennsylvania Medical Center. What they

found was a shocker.

TESTS SHOW mold is growing in Matt's lungs.

The Farkas' had the air tested in their house, and the results turned up the

same type of mold...OVER FOUR TIMES NORMAL LEVELS. Matt's house was killing

him.

" To this point, I'm basically dying and nobody's doing anything. "

Matt's new doctors immediately took him off the antibiotics he was taking

and put him on anti fungal medication. The results were immediate and

dramatic. It brought Matt to tears after his seven year nightmare.

" Yeah, I wept. It's been a long journey. "

Matt will never be entirely free of the mold growing inside his body. It can

only be treated. Matt and packed up their four daughters and moved

out of their mold infested house.

They're being forced to sell it to avoid financial ruin in a foreclosure.

Insurance hasn't covered a dime.

Is your home making you sick? If you have frequent, unexplained bouts of:

coughing

wheezing

and excessive phlegm

Mold in your home might be the culprit. To keep mold under control in your

home, make sure it's dry and well ventilated.

Stay on top of it, and your home movies won't turn into horror movies.

I'm Henry, Channel 6 Action News.

(Copyright 2002 by Action News. .)

Last Updated: Nov 22, 2002