Hello, an intro and questions-warning-looooong post

[Guest guest]

Hi, new here, just discovered this group. I'm Bev and I'm living in a

house full of mold with three kids...I'm stressed, very stressed to

say the least. Here's my story:

My family moved into this house in Nov. of 97, dh, me, 6yo son, 2yo

daughter. Landlady said we might have a bit of flooding problem in

the spring, nothing to worry about but if there was a problem to use

a shop vac and an ancient pool pump to empty out the window wells

where the flooding would " possibly " occur. No problem, we

thought...big problem it was! Massive flooding into the window wells

during the spring melt, 3 days of manning the pumps shifts 24/7 for

dh and I...water running into the windows, into the walls, flooding

the carpet, in the cupboards...this has gone on until fall of this

year, every heavy rainfall, every melt of snow, on and on and on,

when she finally has attempted a " fix " ...don't know if it will work

but we'll see in a month or so. The roof also leaks but she hasn't

done anything about that either. There's also water coming in where

the dryer vent goes outside, and there's leaks in the ceiling in the

basement in other areas as well. The carpet has been completely

saturated many times, and God only knows how often the place was

flooded before we moved into this house.

I have gone from being an extremely active and energetic individual

to having to nap at least two hrs a day, I've had recurring ear

infections, suffer from extreme dizziness, debilitating headaches,

memory and concentration problems, and seem to not be able to " find

my words " when I'm speaking quite often. I've had pneumonia at least

5 times since we've moved here, once for over 13 wks...I lost count

after that...dr thought it couldn't be pneumonia anymore after that

long a period and even tested me for tb but it was neg. I'm not the

worst of it though.

My children have had at least 5 ear infections a year since we've

moved here, pneumonia several times, my daughter is now encountering

problems in school, and what concerned me greatly is that she seems

to have forgotten all the things she used to know...she forgot her

ABC's for crying out loud! How is that possible??? She suffers from

dizzy spells, nosebleeds that last half an hour or longer, and both

have had a lot of problems with their asthma. but that's still not

the worst of it...

I got pregnant in 98 and had the baby 17 wks premature, brought her

home on oxygen, she has bpd (bronchiopulmonary dysplasia-scarring of

the lung tissue from being on a ventilator for months), she has had

pneumonia at least 4 times a year, since August she's had it four

times...countless infections, constant asthma treatments with the

nebulizer are needed. The dr's keep asking what triggers might be in

the house....well, I am so dumb, didn't think of the mold! She's

developmentally delayed because of her prematurity, but I can't help

but wonder if there's more to it??

We are off to the dr tomorrow morning to bring this all to his

attention, and the Environment Health Dept. is coming to " take a

look " at the mold...is there anything in particular I should discuss

with either of these people? Questions I need answered? Tests that

should be run? Do I insist on samples of the molds in all the areas

of the house? Anything I should take to the dr to emphasize my

concerns? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!!

Sorry so long, but I really am quite upset.

Bev