Toxic Mold, Sapulpa, Oklahoma

[Guest guest]

I would like to start by introducing myself. My name is Bridgette

Hinkle. I am a 25 year old, single mother currently residing in

Tulsa, Oklahoma. From 1999 to 2002 I resided in Colcord, Oklahoma

which is located by the Arkansas State line, northeast Oklahoma. I

was self-employed operating a licensed home daycare center. After my

divorce, I had decided to move back to Tulsa, Oklahoma where I was

born and raised most of my life.

On 6-1-02, I moved from Colcord, Oklahoma to an apartment complex in

Sapulpa, Oklahoma, " Woodhaven Apartments. " The apartments are

located on the northeast corner of Mission and Taft Streets. It is

a very quite neighborhood, my neighbors were very friendly and

consisted mostly of senior citizens. Inside the apartment seemed

very well maintained, clean and a very cozy place for my daughter

and I. I had moved into this apartment from a very rural area, so

moving here seemed to be so much more of a convenience. I was

employed at Crescent Café in Sand Springs, Oklahoma as a waitress.

From March to May of 2003 I began to get large amounts of water

leaks in my apartment due to rain. The first leak noticed was on a

Saturday in mid March, either the 15th or 22nd (Not quite sure of

exact date) of 2003. I called and reported this leak to

Hainsley, the apartment manager, on the following Monday. She then

informed me that the guttering was clogged with leaves and was in

need of being cleaned out. However, for 3 months no one had

attempted to clean them out. Every time we received heavy rainfall,

the leaks would worsen.

On Friday, 5-16-2003 around 8:15am I had woke up to a phone call

from Mrs. Hainsley complaining because the woman under my residence

claimed that I had let my bathtub overflow and was leaking through

my floor to her apartment downstairs. I walked into the bathroom and

seen it had approximately ¼ inch of water on the floor and it

appeared that the leak was coming from the heater/vent. I then

informed Mrs. Hainsley that it was water leaks from the rain. I

then reminded her of the guttering that they had failed to fix and

she, once again, assured me that she would immediately get the

roofing company over as quickly as possible to fix the problem.

The living area had pots, pans and large mixing bowls scattered

throughout the floor to catch the leaks. The leaks were sporadic in

this room and dripping from numerous places. The kitchen had some

leakage coming from the corner of the ceiling. That same evening I

was scheduled to be at work at 4:00pm, however, I had to call in so

I could keep all these bowls from running over because at this point

the water was coming down faster.

On that very same day, 5-16-2003 around 3:30pm, I took notice that

the light fixtures in the kitchen, dinning area and in my master

bedroom had leaks as well. The globes were entirely full and had

burned out the bulb in the kitchen area. I immediately called and

reported this to Hainsley. She then sends Bud, the

maintenance man over. He came in and immediately removed the globes

from the ceiling and dumped out the water. When I had asked him if

this was a fire hazard, he simply replied, " Oh of course not, don't

worry about it, it would kick a breaker before anything could

happen. If the globes fill up again, call and let me know and I will

come dump the water out again. " Being nieve, I took his word for it.

Eventually the living room, after so much leakage, started to cause

all the stucco on the ceiling to fall, revealing the center part of

the ceiling, which looked as if part of it had been replaced on a

prior occasion. When I had proceeded downstairs and spoke with

Reba, the tenant downstairs, she then informed me that this has been

an on going problem for the last 4-5 years. She also informed me

that the ceiling fell through the prior year or 2 ago and that

explained the reason why part of the living room ceiling had been

replaced.

On 5-18-03, Sunday night, my daughter starting running a fever of

101, followed by a dry cough. At the time I had assumed it was due

to allergies or possibly sinuses because I had not felt so great

myself for several weeks. I was continuously congested, headaches,

sinus pressure and being tired and drowsy all the time. That night

I gave my daughter some Tylenol to reduce her fever and a cough

suppressant/antihistamine to relieve the coughing and itchy, watery

eyes. It helped subside her for the time being, but later all these

symptoms occurred again. That night I allowed her to sleep in my

bedroom with me to keep a closer eye on her.

The following morning, Monday 5-19-03, when we woke, she was running

a fever of 102 and had hives on her from head to toe. I once again

did the same routine with medication to get the fever reduced, then

promptly took her to my Grandmothers house while I worked 11am to

8pm. When I picked Katelyn up from my Grandmothers house that

night, the hives had went away and she did not have anymore fever.

Tuesday, 5-20-03. The prior night we had got home around 9:30pm and

promptly went to bed because I had to be back at work Tuesday

morning at 10am. She showed no signs that morning of any fever or

hives. She went back to my Grandmothers house and stayed until I

got off of work at 5pm. When I picked her up, there were still no

signs of any illness.

Wednesday, 5-21-03. This particular day was my day off at work.

When I had awoke that morning, I went into the kitchen to make

coffee, went into the living room to watch the 6 o'clock news,

glanced up at my ceiling and noticed black and green looking slime

all over the ceiling. It had just appeared over night. The same was

in the kitchen as well. I immediately grabbed my camera and took

pictures. Later on that morning when Katelyn awoke, the hives and

fever came back. After giving her more fever reducer and it not

helping, we took a trip to the ER at Saint Francis Medical Center.

On the way, I called and informed Hainsley of the mold on the

ceiling and in the kitchen. When we arrived at the ER, Physicians

seemed somewhat baffled. We were there for 3 to 4 hours before she

was released. Upon her release, none of the three physicians that

Katelyn had seen gave her a diagnosis. For treatment of the fever

and hives, she was given some allergy medication/antibiotics.

Once we had left the hospital, I had come to the conclusion that

every time Katelyn was exposed to our apartment she would get sick.

And after seeing the mold on the ceiling that morning, I was

starting to suspect that this in fact was the cause of her fever and

the hives. We went straight to my Grandmother's home after we left

the hospital so that Katelyn would no longer be exposed to this

environment.

We stayed at my Grandmother's residence Wednesday night, Thursday,

Friday and Saturday. (Katelyn has not been to the residence since 5-

21-03) I had spoken to Ms. Hainsley about Katelyn's visit to the ER

and how I suspected it was from the mold in the apartment. I told

her I was sorry for such short notice, but that I was going to

remove my belongings from the apartment before 6-1-03 and find

another place to reside because I did not wish to live in this leaky

and mold infested apartment any longer.

On Sunday, 5-25-03, I had left work at 3pm and went straight to my

apartment to start packing up my things. I had packed up only half

of my belongings, within a total of 2 hours at the most, I suddenly

started running a high fever. I had a temperature of 102. Another

15-20 minutes after becoming feverish, I suddenly became very ill

and almost collapsed in the floor. I felt as if someone had beaten

me front and back with a baseball bat. My whole entire chest was

suffering from excruciating pain and I couldn't breathe or speak. I

have never experienced anything like this; it scared me to the point

that I believe it threw me into a panic/anxiety attack. I had laid

on the couch for 15 to 20 to calm down and try to relax, but it just

kept getting worse. I could not regain my breathing patterns right.

Once I realized that something was seriously wrong with me, I called

a close friend of mine, ( Handley), and between gasping for

air, asked her if she would take me to the ER. Mostly all I could

get out was, " Heeeellllp meee. "

With only living within 4 blocks from me, she was there within

minutes and rushed me to the emergency room at St. 's Medical

Center in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. After being seen, they had given me

morphine to relieve the pain I was having in my chest. After a few

hours, the doctor that was treating me came into my room and

explained to me that he suspected I had a blockage somewhere between

my heart and lungs due to my low oxygen level which was somewhere

between 40 to 50%. (Don't quite remember I was kind of out of it.)

He also explained to me that at this particular hospital, they did

not have enough technology, as far as CAT scans, to verify this. So

he immediately wanted me transported by EMSA from Sapulpa to the St.

's Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The first thought that

went through my mind at this point was, " I'm going to die. "

Somewhere between 10 to 11pm, 5-25-03, I was transported to the

Tulsa hospital location. When I arrived, the CAT scans were

performed and no blockage was found. After 4-5 hours of pure

oxygen and watching my oxygen level slowly go back up, I was

released around 3 or 4am Monday morning, 5-26-03. All medical

professionals I had seen were somewhat baffled. They diagnosed me

with having a severe asthma attack, which seemed strange to me

because I have never in my entire life have had any asthmatic

problems.

After this incident, that's when my life took a turn for the worse.

I missed almost 2 weeks of work after I was released from the

hospital, which put me behind on bills. I had no medical insurance

on my daughter or myself. I have not stepped a foot back into my

apartment since 5-25-03, all of my belongings still remain in the

residence; clothing, dishes, furnishings, my daughter's toys, filing

cabinet with important documents inside, family photos that can't be

replaced, my daughter's toys and much more. This has been such a

major loss. I didn't have top of the line items in my household,

but what I did have was well taken care of and I had worked hard

for. The devastation of losing everything you own in one day is very

overwhelming. I had made many attempts to contact the EPA, CDC,

Heath Department and others. They all gave me the same

answer, " Contact an attorney, we can't inspect the premises because

there is not a State or Federal law on the matter at hand which

could very well be Black Toxic Mold, AKA (Stachybotrys Mold). " NO

ONE WOULD HELP!!! It seemed as though everyone I turned to refused

to get involved in this situation.

I was left with no choice but to turn to legal advice. I retained

legal representation and it's still a major struggle. My attorney

obtained an Industrial Hygienist to test the mold and the air

quality in the apartment. As it turns out, there was in fact 50%

toxic mold in my master bedroom.

Aside from sinking into a major depression, I have done nothing over

the last six months but read on anything and everything I can find

on Stachybotrys Mold. So much of it is undefined because

unfortunately, healthcare professionals lack comprehensive data on

human exposure to all types of fungi. Much of what is known has been

extrapolated from observations of animals exposed to mold both in

the laboratory and as livestock; or from studies of human exposure

in agriculture environments. Many people believe that although you

may not be able to see, feel or smell the dangerous mycotoxins that

are released (airborne) and produced by Stachybotrys mold, affects

are very much can be hazardous to adult health and fatal to infants.

Many of my friends, family and co-workers all ask me the same

thing, " Why don't you just walk in and get your things, use bleach

water and clean it all? " People don't realize what a serious

problem this stuff is. No bleach water or covering the surface with

paint is going to eliminate the mold spores or mycotoxins that can

cause great damage. All of my belongings have to be professionally

cleaned.

Woodhaven Apartments are refusing to remediate my belongings. They

have made threats to throw all of my belongings in the " Trash

Dumpster " if I don't vacate the premises. They requested that I

remove everything immediately so that they can resume another tenant

because they are, " loosing rent. " (Quoted from Hainsley, who

as of last month has resigned from Woodhaven.)

Today Woodhaven claims that the apartment has been, " Fixed " .

Woodhaven's fix consisted of a little paint and cleaning out the

guttering. However, that would not solve the problem; in fact,

recent studies show that the paint cover can only make matters

worse. Toxic mold can grow on almost any surface, sometimes lurking

behind wallpaper, underneath bathtubs and flooring, in air

ventilation systems and in sheet rock or dry wall, spreading quickly

and often growing in dark and concealed areas. It prefers to

colonize near moisture or in high humidity (usually over 55%) and on

high-cellulose materials, such as wood or carpets. Homes with

limited airflow, severe water damage, continued condensation, poorly

installed stucco, and poor drainage all host the perfect mold

environment.

Dr. Jay Portnoy, MD, a physician at Children of Mercy Hospital in

Kansas City and a representative of the American Academy of Allergy,

Asthma, and Immunology explains how mold acts on the body.

" Mold attacks in one of four ways, First, you could be allergic to

it. This occurs in 10% to 20% of cases. A skin or blood test would

pinpoint it as an allergic substance.

Second, substances called ergosterol and glucan in the walls of the

mold cell can cause hay fever-like symptoms with itchy, red, and

watery eyes and nasal congestion. You don't have to be allergic –

anyone could react to these.

Third, molds release organic compounds such as benzene and acetone

that would raise alarms in any workplace and are linked to nausea,

dizziness, and headaches. Again, you don't have to be allergic.

And last, molds, like other organisms, don't want to compete for

food and nurturing, so they expel mycotoxins to kill competitors

such as bacteria. In the case of helpful mycotoxins, we call these

antibiotics and use them to help us. But in the case of some molds,

the mycotoxins target cells within our bodies and cause problems

such as cancer, stillbirths, and bleeding in infants. Stachybotrys

makes a lot of these harmful mycotoxins. "

Apparently, the apartment complex feels it bears no responsibility

and is taking no action to resolve this situation that it has

created. I was in highest hopes that Woodhaven and I could resolve

this matter without litigation. However, with Woodhaven's refusal,

I have very few options left. Attorney, Dittrich is filing

suit against them within the next week or two.

Today I am beyond frustration and the devastation and I'm simply

angered because on several occasions, my daughter had yet more

breakouts of hives and fever and medical professionals were baffled

once again. Katelyn has never been a sickly child, from the time she

was an infant up until our residence at Woodhaven, she had only been

to routine doctor visits for checkups/immunization shots.

It angers me that I have not yet spoken to a medical professional

that seems to know anything about mold exposure and the lifetime

affects it may endure. I am very much disturbed to think that

Woodhaven is planning to move in another tenant and have not sent

out notification to other tenants in building 919 about the harmful

levels of contamination in apartment number 4. I don't think I would

be able to sleep at night if a small child was to reside there

without notice of the problem and serious medical problems or death

of an infant child occurred.

In addition, I am not current to up to date laws, the last article I

have read was pertaining to Congress to address toxic mold issue on

September 12, 2002. Congressman Conyers, Jr. had introduced H.

R. 5040: The United States Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act,

( " The Melina Bill. " ) This bill consists upon the EPA, CDC and HUD

to recognize some of the following;

1. To examine the effects of different molds on human health and

develop accurate scientific information on the hazards presented by

indoor mold.

2. To establish a guideline that identify conditions that facilitate

indoor mold growth and measures that can be implemented to prevent

such growth. The guidelines will also address mold inspection,

testing and remediation.

3. To establish guidelines for certifying mold inspectors and

remediators.

4. To educate the public about the dangers of indoor mold.

5. The Bill requires mold inspections for multi-unit residential

property and mold inspections for all property that is purchased or

leased using funds that are guaranteed by the federal government.

(Public Housing)

6. It would also require, to whatever extent possible, that local

jurisdictions modify building codes to minimize mold hazards in new

construction.

7. It will create a National Toxic Mold Insurance Program

administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to

protect homeowners from catastrophic losses. Many homeowners are

finding that insurance companies will not offer adequate coverage

for mold.

8. The Bill will also enable States to provide Medicaid coverage to

mold victims who are unable to secure adequate health care.

9. The Bill would authorize grants for mold removal in public

buildings.

10. The Bill would offer tax credits for inspection and/or

remediation of mold hazards.

If anyone has any further information or can help in any way, I can

be reached at the following:

Phone: 918-955-8088

Via Email: Hinkle729@...

Mailing address: 4538 S. 29th W. Ave, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74107

Thank you for your time,

Bridgette Hinkle