Home not so sweet when invaded by mold

[Guest guest]

Home not so sweet when invaded by mold

The Hamakers had to leave their home after discovering the source of

daughter e's near-fatal asthma attack.

Muncie Star Press - Muncie,IN

By GAIL KOCH

gkoch@...

http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20061227/NEWS01/612270315/1002

MUNCIE -- Until a few weeks ago, Dawn Hamaker believed her home was

her family's sanctuary.

Not anymore.

In the early-morning hours of Dec. 5, Hamaker was awakened by her 12-

year-old daughter, e. A severe asthmatic, e was having a

paralyzing asthma attack, one that deprived her of oxygen so quickly

she was near death.

As she called 911, Hamaker screamed for her husband, Tom. With help

from the couple's youngest daughter, Darian, 8, Tom woke in time to

administer CPR to e and save her life.

To his credit, Tom wasn't licensed in CPR. " He just did what he had

to do, " explained his mother, McKillip.

Days later, the family had the answer to what had caused e's

asthma to worsen: Mold in their home.

Construction at fault

The Hamakers purchased their three-bedroom ranch home on South Luick

Street in 2000. Two years before they bought the property, previous

owners had built on an addition. In the Hamaker household, the 19-by-

20 foot addition housed a family room, a utility room and e's

bedroom.

In the past, Dawn said the family had experienced problems with mold

in the home. When mildew surfaced, under furniture or on walls,

Hamaker did as many homeowners would do. She cleaned up the spots

with bleach water.

But what Tom and Dawn didn't understand was how serious their mold

problem was.

After e's recent hospitalization, Tom, a concrete worker, began

examining the addition to their home. Horrified, he discovered the

walls had been built without insulation or plywood barriers.

" You could pretty much punch right through to the siding, " he

said. " I just can't believe whoever built those rooms never put

insulation or boards in. "

Without those barriers, moisture built up within the walls of the

Hamakers' home. Over time, that moisture weakened a portion of their

roof in addition to creating an environment ripe for black mold to

grow.

Dawn, too, was disgusted by the seriousness of the problem. " It's

mold, and when you think mold, you think 'dirty,' " she said. " It's a

gross thing to think about, but we know this was not our fault. "

'Always been givers'

Now aware of their home's mold problem, the Hamakers have set out to

fix the roof and addition.

The problem? The cost.

Even with Tom and several friends handling some of the labor,

estimates to remodel are running between $10,000 and $15,000. The

couple's homeowners' insurance will not cover the cost, Dawn said,

because the problem was a man-made one.

To help pay for the improvements, the Hamakers are sponsoring

a " Clean Air for e " fund-raising event 2-6 p.m. Jan. 6 at Center

Stage. The family also has arranged for donations to be made to the

e Hamaker Fund (Fund number 3285-11), set up at all WGE Credit

Unions.

Initially, e's grandmother, who also suffers from asthma, said

the family was reluctant to ask for help. " We've always been

givers, " she said. " We've never felt the need to ask for anything. "

But the Hamakers are hoping that by reaching out and sharing their

family's story, the situation can educate others about unknown

dangers that can exist in one's home. " It's a buyer-beware lesson,

really, " said Cher Fisher, Tom's sister.

One that nearly cost e Hamaker her life, her mother points

out. " I just feel misled, " she said. " We had a home inspection, we

were told the home was safe to live in. From the outside, it looked

nice. "

Condition improving

Since e's latest asthma attack, the family of five (the couple

has an older daughter, Chelsey, 16) have been living at the

southside home of Cher and her husband, Adam Fisher.

Cher said her niece's condition has improved dramatically since the

Hamakers temporarily moved out of their own home.

Tests indicate e's breathing level, measured in " peak flow, "

remains near an average range of 300. In the past, those levels had

dropped into the 100s, her aunt said.

The family is also piecing together how past problems with e's

asthma might have been triggered by the mold.

Tom and Dawn were not aware e was allergic to mold (and a host

of other allergens) until their daughter underwent allergy testing

at Riley Children's Hospital earlier this year.

e's asthma would get worse in the winter months, Dawn explained,

which she used to attribute to the change in seasons. " Now I realize

it's because we'd shut the house up, the heat would be on and e

would be inside all the time. "

Chelsey also would suffer from headaches and fatigue, which Dawn

suspects might have been a side effect of mold exposure.

e continues to receive the highest doses of asthma medication

she can take for her age. A small comfort for the Hamakers is the

recent arrival of an epipen in the house, a small pen containing

epinephrine that will open e's airways in the event of another

severe attack. As a family, they'll also soon undergo CPR training.

Dawn said she worries about moving back into the family home, even

after the renovations are made. " If we rented, we'd be out of

there, " she said.

For now, she's hoping for the best and is thankful that her daughter

was still alive this Christmas.

Contact news reporter Gail Koch at 213-5827.