Moldy Home Makes Payson Man Dangerously Sick Video

November 18, 2010

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November 18, 2010

Moldy Home Makes Payson Man Dangerously Sick

Man Can't Fix Home, Move Out; Doctors Not Sure They Can Help

POSTED: 1:45 pm MST November 18, 2010

UPDATED: 2:43 pm MST November 18, 2010

|Share›› Email›› Print60% are SAD | Comments (0)PAYSON, Ariz. --

Winchell has been sick for seven years because his house is contaminated with

mold, and right now there's nothing he can do about it.

Winchell has had numerous symptoms including depression, anxiety, stomach

bleeding, skin cancer, skin ulcers, fever, chills, night sweats, insomnia,

chronic fatigue syndrome and tremors. He's been to every kind of specialist he

can find, but no doctor has been able to find a proper treatment.

" I will probably continue to get sick and possibly die, " said the 59-year-old

former athlete. " I'm almost 60 and a lot of times living here I feel like I'm in

my 80s or 90s. "

Dr. Marie York explains that mold can cause an allergic reaction, which can

affect some people but not others. And that may be the reason most doctors are

not willing to treat patients for mold exposure. " We tried to get him into the

Mayo clinic, " she said, " and they didn't feel that they could help him. "

She believes Winchell's symptoms will disappear if he moves out of his home, but

it's not that simple. Winchell lives on a fixed income and says he can't afford

another home. And he definitely can't afford the $100,000 it would cost to wipe

out the mold in this one. So he's stuck.

One Payson building official admits there's little the town can do to help

Winchell and it can't force him to tear down the mold-infested home. In fact

there's no mold regulation throughout Arizona.

Winchell sued the home inspector who failed to spot the mold back when he bought

the house in 2003 and won a $33,000 settlement. But he says he still has not

received the money from his attorney.

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