Mold that ails home sickens suffering family

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July 20, 2004

Mold that ails home sickens suffering family

http://www.katu.com/salem/story.asp?ID=69380

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by Mason

katu.com

SALEM, Ore. - They call it the monster in the basement. The case of

mold that has destroyed thousands in personal belongings, eaten up

life savings, and they say, left them nearly destitute.

They would leave the house that is causing them so many health

problems, they say, but their damaged credit has left them unable to

rent another home.

Such is the life of the Raynak Family, who has been affected by a

series of floods that an expert considers a raging case of mold.

" We kept thinking the city of Salem would finally do the right thing

and pay the bills " , says Raynak, but so far that hasn't

happened. "

The Raynaks are taking on city hall because they maintain that during

rainstorms, city drains back up and flow into their basement,

beginning in November of 1999.

Later they say, mold took hold in their basement and caused serious

medical problems amongst their five children.

They have accumulated videos, photographs, and boxes of medical

records they say proves their case.

What's more, subsequent actions by city maintenance crews showed that

tree roots and other obstacles were re-routing normal run-off from

the street into their basement.

Sharman Meiners, Assistant City Attorney declined to comment on the

Raynak case citing pending litigation. A trial is set for September.

So far, say the Raynak's, attempts to settle the case have ended

poorly. The settlements offered have been pennies on the dollar. The

family says between unpaid medical bills and house repairs, the

floods have cost them about $300,000.

From the beginning it hasn't been easy, trying to prove the source of

the water, the root of the health problems, all while trying to keep

a household running.

" Financially we're ruined, we're at the edge of bankruptcy, " says

Raynak, a mom who works from an envelope of cash to pay for

the necessities of life each month.

Creditors have seized accounts and the family has been forced to

change phone numbers to stay ahead of bill collectors.

" We've had to live by faith, " says Raynak, a home remodeler.

Raynak says friends have sold them cars for a few dollars, doctors

have treated them for free, and others have simply forgiven bills

because most understand how devastating the problems have been.

The long spiral appeared shortly after a 1999 Thanksgiving Day flood.

The Raynaks and their five children began experiencing a series of

health problems that no one could explain.

" There were a lot of infections, " says e MD, one of a

group of physicians who began treatment health problems nearly five

years ago.

The hardest hit child was the youngest, . The boy, now three

years old, had a series of infections in the nose and throat

untreatable by antibiotics.

As his mother explains the stack of medical records she tears up. She

pulls out a picture of the boy with an incision in his chest made by

a pump for high levels of antibiotics.

" I just can't believe what this kid went through before we figured it

all out, " says his mother.

The Raynaks estimate that the medical bills for just the boy to be

about $40,000.

" For a time, we just didn't know what was causing all of our

problems, " says Raynak.

, a physician who lives not far from the Raynak home actually

paid a visit to look at the mold.

" The quantities were impressive, " says who suspects there

may be a tie between the sick home and the sick family. " It seems

quite possible that (the mold) was the cause of the reactivity, " says

.

For months the family continued to use the heating system that turned

out to be filled with mold spores.

The family has been urged by an industrial hygienist to seal up the

basement or create a negative flow of air so that no mold spores blow

about the house.

" What it means is that we have to use a wood stove in the winter, "

says Raynak. " It's tough when you have to choose between

keeping your family warm and keeping them well. "

One expert, who has conducted tests on the air quality of the home

and written a report on the mold spores has told the family they may

have to abandon the home if the health problems continue or worsen.

" Where would we go?, " says , " we don't have the money to get

out even if we wanted to "