Air Filter Masks Suffering

[Guest guest]

Yeah, I can relate to the fact that one doesn't realize they're not going to

be able to work again! When I got laid off in 1992, due to downsizing at U

S West, I thought in time I'd go back to work. I've never been able to,

unfortunately.

[Guest guest]

This newspaper writer deserves a thank you for her courageous

journalism. Please drop her an e-mail if you're so inclined.

Bostic

peach@...

Terry Bibo

tbibo@...

Air filter masks her suffering

5/28/2000

When Bostic wore an air filter in a parade to protest mega-hog

farms, people thought she was making a clever statement about stink.

Something does stink, but it is more than the corporate greed of

factory farms.

wears air filters all the time. She has little choice. Since

1993, she has been on disability for a collection of maladies she

attributes to her sensitivity to chemicals. Whether you call it

multiple chemical sensitivity - as she does - or fibromyalgia or dys

thymia or chronic fatigue syndrome - as others have alleged/

diagnosed over the years - it bites. Hard.

rarely leaves her home in Farmington. It is her one sure haven

in a world that may be harmless for most people, but not for .

Allergy and asthma sufferers can understand, a little. A gentle

breeze for everyone else triggers headaches and sneezing and runny

noses for the afflicted.

For , the outside world is crippling, so she stays in a house as

chemical-free as she can make it. Her home is equipped with seven

special air filters, the carpeting has all been replaced by wood

flooring, and nothing but organic cleaners are ever used here.

Her husband does most of the shopping because the shortest trip can

fatigue for days. When she does go out, usually for doctor's

appointments or other necessities, she wears her air filter. She

tries to break trips into the smallest errands. Even so, she

sometimes pulls over to the side of the road or in parking lots to

nap.

" People ask my mom, 'What does do in the house all day?' " she

says. " I don't tell them I'm not well enough to do much. "

Nevertheless, according to her insurance company, she no longer

qualifies for long-term disability. On Dec. 2, 1998, " medical

information " from a doctor was sent to by her insurance company

said she could work at something. On Dec. 28, Country Companies cut

her off.

" The reason is that, after two years of our policy the definition of

a disability changes from somebody performing the duties of their

existing job to somebody performing the duties of any job, " says Jean

Lawyer, director of corporate communications for the insurer.

That's odd, considering what Social Security has to say about

Bostic:

" Because of the severe restrictions imposed by the psychological

aspects of her impairment, the claimant would be unable to maintain

the concentration, persistence and pace necessary to perform even

simple unskilled work, " was the summary of one evaluation.

She still receives disability from Social Security.

Lawyer counters that a second review confirmed the first and, " My

understanding is that different entities have different definitions

of disability. "

True, no doubt. But there is more to the case of Bostic, and

Lawyer might want to think twice. Before March 18, 1993, Bostic

had a job similar to Lawyer's in a sister company. She also worked in

public relations, but for the Illinois Farm Bureau, which is an

affiliate of Country Companies.

Her office was above the garage. Fumes filtered up. Regular spraying

with the insecticide Dursban around the office didn't help. But after

months of renovations and redecorating - and months of aching joints

and pains and difficulty concentrating - was flattened all at

once.

" When I left the office I had no clue I'd never go back to work, " she

says.

Technically, she did go back later that year, but it quickly was

clear she couldn't do her job. She couldn't think straight. She was

" slow. "

Rather than go through a trial, settled her worker's

compensation claim for " a pittance " in 1997. The Farm Bureau did not

admit any fault, but it did pay $100,000. With legal fees and medical

bills coming out of that total, ended up with far less, which

supposedly compensated her for the rest of her working life. She was

44.

Now she is 47, most of the settlement has been used to renovate the

house so she can live in it, and the disability she was counting on

is gone. She still can't concentrate. Some medical reviews indicate

she may have suffered brain damage that lowered her IQ permanently.

Others cite depression.

" I have to laugh about it because I've cried too long, " says,

chuckling grimly. " Who wouldn't be depressed in my situation? "

After years of silence on the issue, she decided to let her story be

told for a couple of reasons. First, she considers herself a " canary

in the coal mine " on the ever-increasing chemical saturation of our

world. There are a few people like Bostic around now; there is

reason to believe there may be a lot more before long.

Second, she is also " a pit bull. " She thinks what Country Companies

did is wrong, and she is fighting with all the limited resources at

her disposal. And she doesn't think it is a coincidence that she was

cut off just months after she publicly criticized the Farm Bureau for

its stand on mega- hog farms.

Her lawyer, Waters, did not want to say much as negotiations

continue with Country Companies.

" I can say she's a deserving lady who's been victimized by a cynical,

unfeeling insurance company, " he says.

You can also say that she will still join the parade of protests, at

considerable personal cost, air filter and all.

Terry Bibo is a columnist for the Journal Star. Write her at 1 News

Plaza, Peoria, IL 61643, or call (800) 225-5757, Ext. 3189, or send e-

mail to tbibo@...

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