Re[2]: Heart disease has family wondering

[Guest guest]

Prior to my working for United HealthCare (where I was infected with

mold), 5 other employees had myocarditis, an inflammation of the

heart. If I remember correctly, 2 of them died.

Barth

www.presenting.net/sbs/sbs.html

SUBMIT YOUR DOCTOR: www.presenting.net/sbs/molddoctors.html

---

sac> What an interesting yet very frightening story. Sounds like a house of

sac> horrors. I love the comment from Hutton, director of public

affairs for

sac> the New York

sac> State Department of Health, said that it is scientifically

sac> impossible for a mold to contain a virus that could attack

sac> somebody's heart. But a mold can transmit an infection to people

sac> with weakened immune systems. " Generally what happens is a mold can

sac> aggravate and cause people to have allergic reactions, " she

sac> said. " It really depends on the individual types of molds in the

sac> house. " They always say it can only be a problem if you have a weakened

sac> immune system.

sac> When will they ever get it. Very sad for the family to got through this.

sac> Heart disease has family wondering

sac> Hillsdale Independent - Hillsdale,NY*

sac> By JOE MINISSALE 05/02/2008

sac> _http://www.zwire.http://wwhttp://ww_ (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?)

sac> newsid=19655498 & <WBR>BR & PAG=PAG & dept_dept_<WBR & <WBR>rfi=6

sac> E. GREENBUSH--Help wanted: A new heart for a 29-year-old East

sac> Greenbush man, on waiting list for a transplant at New York City

sac> hospital.

sac> At 25, Larry DeCoste felt a sudden, sharp chest pain

sac> one summer evening in June 2005. " I was in my room, woke up at night

sac> and couldn't breathe, " he said. " Cardiomyopathy, that's what they

sac> call it. " Caused by a virus, this is a serious disease in which the

sac> heart gets larger and becomes inflamed.

sac> But his doctors were stumped. They installed a pacemaker, and

sac> told him to tough it out and see if the heart would heal itself. But

sac> soon after Mr. DeCoste suffered a full-blown heart attack. He was

sac> hospitalized several times, but doctors could not pinpoint what had

sac> ruined his young heart. " They really didn't come to any

sac> conclusions,conclusions,<WBR> " he said. " They didn't find an

sac> The family consulted specialists at New York-Presbyterian

sac> Hospital, the university hospital of Columbia and Cornell, who

sac> recommended he receive a new heart.

sac> For now, a brown bag with tubes attached to his shoulder pumps

sac> his heart for him.

sac> " It keeps me alive, " said Mr. DeCoste, who discussed his

sac> condition Wednesday at the Corliss Avenue home where he grew up. " It

sac> pumps the blood out of my heart properly. "

sac> Too weak to work, Mr. Decoste said that at any moment he must

sac> be ready for a phone call telling him to get to New York City within

sac> three hours.

sac> " Yeah, it's very tough, " he said. " I try to stay positive

sac> everyday. "

sac> His mother, DeCoste, 52, has requested extra time off

sac> from her job as a monitor at Columbia High School, so that she may

sac> be ready to take her son to the hospital as soon as the call comes.

sac> She said that her middle son, , 24, also uses a pacemaker for

sac> an irregular heart rhythm. Although, the youngest son , 19,

sac> however has a perfectly healthy heart. Her whole family is ill, she

sac> said. " There's something wrong here, " she said. " We're all confused.

sac> My doctors are confused. "

sac> There is no history of heart disease in her or her husband's

sac> family, Mrs. DeCoste added.

sac> " It's weird that both my sons would need pacemakers, " she

sac> said. " Doctors say this is a sick house. "

sac> A document from the Rensselaer County Health Department states

sac> that house was inspected March 28, 2002. The inspection found a

sac> moderate to high degree of mold in there. Mrs. DeCoste said she

sac> replaced the windows at the department's recommendation, but mold

sac> regenerated rapidly.

sac> There was one species of mold in the basement that the Health

sac> Department could not identify, she said.

sac> In the backyard of the house, there is a dead tree with three

sac> stumps stripped of bark. Mrs. DeCoste said mold has killed the tree,

sac> and is killing the other tree in the front yard. " Even our trees are

sac> dying. My neighbors tell me that 'Here you are in summer and your

sac> house looks like winter.' "

sac> The family moved into the one-story ranch-style home in the

sac> early 1990s. Mrs. DeCoste said she cannot remember if the house was

sac> inspected before they bought it. Moving is not an option because the

sac> mortgage has been paid off, she added, and the family cannot afford

sac> it because of medical expenses. " How could we sell it? " she

sac> asked. " The people [buyers] would come after us later. "

sac> Hutton, director of public affairs for the New York

sac> State Department of Health, said that it is scientifically

sac> impossible for a mold to contain a virus that could attack

sac> somebody's heart. But a mold can transmit an infection to people

sac> with weakened immune systems. " Generally what happens is a mold can

sac> aggravate and cause people to have allergic reactions, " she

sac> said. " It really depends on the individual types of molds in the

sac> house. "

sac> Certain species of aspergillus, for example, a class of molds

sac> that are commonly found in the Northern Hemisphere in fall and

sac> winter, can be pathogenic. Although most people have a natural

sac> immunity to the mold's ill effects, those who don't can develop

sac> aspergillosis, a rare, usually fatal infection that can affect

sac> virtually any organ, but especially the heart, lungs, brain, and

sac> kidneys. Because of this, hospitals take great precautions against

sac> during bone marrow transplant, which requires suppression of a

sac> patient's immune system, Ms Hutton said.

sac> Other molds, she added, can kill trees, such as the chestnut

sac> white mold, which can kill chestnut trees.

sac> Ms. Hutton recommended that Mrs. DeCoste have her house

sac> examined by someone who knows what they're doing. " There are

sac> companies you can hire to remove mold, " she said.

sac> In the meantime, the family has established a fundraising

sac> account. If you would like to help Larry DeCoste with his medical

sac> expenses there is benefit fund at Trustco Bank, 501 Columbia

sac> Turnpike, Rensselaer, NY 12144.

sac> " Thank you very much for your consideration in giving me a

sac> second chance at life, " he writes in a statement calling for

sac> donations. " Life is such a valuable thing and to get a second chance

sac> at it means everything to me. "

sac> To contact Rensselaer editor Joe Minissale email

sac> _jminissale@IndeNewsjmin_ (mailto:jminissale@...) .

sac> **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family

sac> favorites at AOL Food.

sac> (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)

sac>