Re: New member with concerns

Posted November 30, 2007 · November 30, 2007

Goodness - welcome to the group since I seem to be the first to respond.

Spraypainting - what a cruel joke. You did the first and most important thing

YOU GOT OUT. Congratulations. For some of us, that's a life or death decision

and you chose life. People are affected differently by mold and mycotoxin

exposure - some of it is genetic and you can read about it in a book called Mold

Warriors by Dr. Shoemaker (you can find it at Moldwarriors.com).

You're asking all the right questions, but it's difficult to get actual answers,

especially from doctors.

And it can get REALLY expensive really quickly to try to get answers.

In terms of the landlord - is there a Legal Aid office that can help you? They

can't help you go after anyone, but if the landlord is coming after you, you may

be able to get assistance. Is there any way your daughter's doctor might say

the damp conditions in the apartment contributed to your daughter's asthma?

Good chance that and legal aid assistance could get the landlord to leave you

alone - then you can get on to taking care of the more critical health issues.

Some of us on this site will sound as if we're bloviating and full of conspiracy

theories about mold issues... the short story is that there are a LOT of

interests with a LOT at stake financially if the public were to understand how

dangerous mold can be and they've been really effective at keeping it quiet.

If you've got spare cash for testing, you can probably fly yourself or samples

someplace where what's happened to you can be identified specifically. For most

folks who've lost homes or employment from mold exposure, that's not feasible.

If this is the case for you guys, you may want to shoot straight to learning

about some of the protocols for helping the body to rid itself of biotoxins -

Dr. Shoe's book (above) describes taking a drug called cholestyramine (CSM)

which is on the market as a cholesterol-lowering drug, but it also binds to

toxins to help the body rid itself of them. It's a perscription med, so you

need it written for you and would need to have a doctor oversee it. There are

other non-med products you can learn about, but I would recommend having a

medical professional oversee what you guys choose to do.

At least on of the list members had had FABULOUS success purging her body of

toxins using an ozone therapy unit like this one

http://www.oxygenmedicine.com/ozonesteampackage.html

Wishing you the best - we'll do our best to get you good info. First rule is to

take care of your health.

~Haley

nbowers79 <nbowers79@...> wrote: Hi I joined

this about a week or so ago in the middle of moving out of

what I think is a sick building. To summarize my situation I am 28 and

suffering from Emphysema, I have a 3.5 yr old daughter and a 26 yr old

fiance.We moved into our apartment which is in a 105 yr old building

about 6 months ago. about 3 months into being here our daughter

started getting sick. We noticed that she kept getting sicker no

matter what we tried. Understanding that kids get sick from time to

time. We took her to the doctor. Doc says she just has a cold and says

to get some cough medicine and keep an eye on her. Well after 3

bottles and another 6 weeks we take her back. Now she has what appears

to be asthma and we have found a large infestation of mold in the

apartment behind one of the walls. We found it because it started

creeping out under a sheet of drywall. Since our daughter has gotten

sick we have all three started getting sick. When told about the mold

our landlord spray painted over it and said it was alright. My

daughter continued to get sick and we moved out. I have since had her

back to the doctor and am awaiting a detailed analysis of what kind of

mold it is. My medical bills are already bad and the landlord is

insisting this isn't a problem and is refusing to release us from the

lease even though the apartment was clearly making us sick. Do I have

any ground to stand on as far as getting out of the lease?

~Haley

Posted November 30, 2007 · November 30, 2007

If your daughter is getting sick *please* do whatever it takes to move

out of there.

Think of her health first, then the rest. You should document the

situation as extensively as possible,

because landlords sometimes sue tenants for notifying them of mold.

You should also try to get

another place without their recommendation because they sometimes come

after you and harass you

where you live. What I am saying is that if its at all possible try to

move without their knowing where

you are moving to. At the next time that you can give notice, do.

Consult locat tenants rights organizations but don't expect them to be

knowledgable about mold.

Also, get the names and phone numbers, emails addresses, etc. of

everybody else in your building, so you

will have contacts to ask about things after you leave. (for example

they can't charge you for 'rent' while renting the apartment out to

somebody else which they often try to do, you will want to know

whether they actually do leave you apartment vacant if they try to

charge you for a half years rent.)

Your landlord sounds like the type that might do that. You WILL need

to get a lawyer and the rest,

but right now your #1 task should be finding a SAFE place for you and your

daughter to live without having to use your current landlord as a

reference and getting whatever mold is there documented.

The best way is to hire a lab to take samples but then they will also

expect to get paid to testify in court if you end up there. They will

have you over a barrel. Better to find a good friend who is

trustworthy who can testify in court and have them take the samples,

photograph each sample location and send in the samples with the chain

of custody form.

Get a locked, storage space in a clean, dry building with video

security to stage your belongings and keep important items in.

For references, perhaps you could use the landlord you had before you

moved in to this place.

When you have children the urgency is much greater than with adults.

On Nov 30, 2007 12:45 PM, nbowers79 <nbowers79@...> wrote:

>

> Hi I joined this about a week or so ago in the middle of moving out of

> what I think is a sick building. To summarize my situation I am 28 and

> suffering from Emphysema, I have a 3.5 yr old daughter and a 26 yr old

> fiance.We moved into our apartment which is in a 105 yr old building

> about 6 months ago. about 3 months into being here our daughter

> started getting sick. We noticed that she kept getting sicker no

> matter what we tried. Understanding that kids get sick from time to

> time. We took her to the doctor. Doc says she just has a cold and says

> to get some cough medicine and keep an eye on her. Well after 3

> bottles and another 6 weeks we take her back. Now she has what appears

> to be asthma and we have found a large infestation of mold in the

> apartment behind one of the walls. We found it because it started

> creeping out under a sheet of drywall. Since our daughter has gotten

> sick we have all three started getting sick. When told about the mold

> our landlord spray painted over it and said it was alright. My

> daughter continued to get sick and we moved out. I have since had her

> back to the doctor and am awaiting a detailed analysis of what kind of

> mold it is. My medical bills are already bad and the landlord is

> insisting this isn't a problem and is refusing to release us from the

> lease even though the apartment was clearly making us sick. Do I have

> any ground to stand on as far as getting out of the lease?

>

Posted November 30, 2007 · November 30, 2007

I hope you search around for a good lawyer as this is a situation that is very

complicated in that you and your family could have ongoing health problems.

This is my opinion. You were very wise to get out of that moldy building and I

hope you get help real soon. Others on here will jump in I'm sure and you will

get some good advice. Please go to www.biotoxin.info as it has information on

how mold affects health. Take pictures if you can of the mold as this will help

convince a judge should it come to that.

Best regards,

Sharon Hanson

nbowers79 <nbowers79@...> wrote:

Hi I joined this about a week or so ago in the middle of moving out of