Guest guest Posted October 26, 2003 Report Share Posted October 26, 2003 Dear Friends, It's hard to believe that almost 5 years have passed since our group was formed. In some ways it seems like a lifetime and in others, like it was only yesterday. By the time we started posting information on about the hazards of exposure to mycotoxins, many of us had already spent months scouring our libraries, talking with "experts" and frantically trying to find others who knew something about this plague. The internet was like a gift from God just at a time when we needed most to join people around the globe with a common desire for knowledge. I remember the day I met a former co-worker Kathy at Elaine's home to read through the report the IAQ firm had prepared on our office - the Leon County Courthouse. The pictures were scary enough but the report - with unfamiliar words like stachybotrys and penicillium - coupled with strongly worded statements about the dangers of exposure - set my head reeling. I knew I was ill - really ill and getting worse - but it was hard to get my arms around the possibility that the constant pain, brain fog and fatigue might be permanent or that we might die. Of the three of us, Kathy was the most ill. She had been diagnosed with lupus and had major complications with endometriosis. She weighed about 90 pounds soaking wet and had that unhealthy pallor that cancer victims get. She had trouble following what Elaine was telling us and, later when I walked her out to the car, she paused and then, looking deeply into my eyes she said, "they knew - we were pregnant and they didn't tell us." I've never seen a sadder expression and her eyes said it all. Time seemed to stand still as we looked into each others eyes, wondering what the future held. Despite the brain damage, she'd gone right to the bottom line - we might not live to see our babies grow up. What an awful day. In the 14 years since I was sickened by mold, I have tried to help people learn more about mycotoxins so they can protect themselves. Like many of you, I have been angry and saddened by our government's seeming disinterest in this subject. At first I assumed they just didn't understand how dangerous it could be - but over time I've learned that they know. They know about how serious moldy buildings are and they have chosen to act as a gatekeeper - keeping people in the dark. When the CDC retracted the Dearborn/Etzel study with a supposed "reevaluation" by a panel of experts who had never undertaken any research into mycotoxin exposure, I realized that they had chosen to work for the insurance companies - not for the greater good of mankind. They plan to go right on telling people that there needs to be more research - blah, blah, blah - until they can no longer hide the truth. They helped the insurance industry buy the time they needed to get mold excluded from the insurance policies of millions of homeowners or capped with a ridiculously low limit of $5,000 or $10,000. They helped by making sure no studies were funded that could link mycotoxin exposure and chronic illness. Perhaps, as some of you believe, they might even had helped cover up an accidental release of chemical and biological mycotoxins. The bottom line is that we have no more answers today to our questions about our exposure than we had in 1989. The good news is that some researchers are still plugging away and don't seem to care whose feathers get ruffled. And while most doctors are still asleep where toxic exposures are concerned - others are challenging the status quo and finding answers to why many of us become so ill from our exposure. One of my favorite sayings is "adversity doesn't make character - it reveals character" and time and again I see the true colors of people shining through, confirming my belief that most people are basically warm, caring and worth knowing. On that note, I can't thank KC and Sharon enough for taking over as moderator of our group and giving me time off to rest. A diet of all mold all the time can wear you down. We still don't know why people working side by side can have differing reactions to exposure or why one person almost dies while the other seems hardly affected. As the planet becomes increasingly toxic to plant, human and animal life, it would seem logical that we turn our focus on preventing further degradation of our air and water. But like a poorly run business, we find it is often what is overlooked, ignored and hidden that defines our lives - not that which is open and available for inspection. Like Ron Gots, who has made up his mind that "MCS doesn't exist and if it did, you don't have it" life has become a balancing act. For every self serving dinosaur like Gots, there are dozens of unselfish open minded people in the trenches of life plugging away digging for the truth. In our group we have been fortunate to have many giving people who worry more about the quality of life on our planet than they do about the size of their bank accounts. Best wishes everyone - Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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