Dear friends, family & community,My name is Joe Christiano and I am here to tell you the story of my family stricken by severe illness. I am writing this because I have chosen to swallow my pride at an attempt to not look for a handout by any means, but to use this as a last resort & a hopeful saving grace.This is our story.......My mom’s fight is for our lives. Her strength comes from her kids. They help lift her up when she’s tired, when she’s weak, and when she feels like giving up. Today, I am here as a son and a brother of my two siblings, Cameron & Aly whose lives have been considerably impacted by the devastating circumstances surrounding toxic mold exposure, environmental toxins; carbon monoxide, sepsis, bacteria growth, and damp-building home illnesses. I AM their voice....... Think of our story as if it were happening to you and your family. You go through numerous years of health issues ranging from recurrent viral/bacterial infections, infections that spread to your baby’s bones and muscles, to debilitating fatigue and various neurological symptoms which greatly alter your daily life. As your health continues to decline there seems to be NO explanation as to why you've developed a multitude of medical problems, including chronic sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, sleep disturbances, skin rashes, joint/muscle pain, muscle weakness, chronic headaches, bruising, chronic Infections, abnormalities of the autonomic (sympathetic) nervous system and changes in muscle metabolism, gout, autoimmune disease, vascular disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome. You become depressed & very angry.During this time you also deal with your your newborn child developing pneumonia, repeated bronchiolitis, chronic sinus infections, malaise, chronic fevers, scarlet fever, neurological issues, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, Congenital brain disorder (Grey matter heterotopias) fighting frequent ear infections that spread throughout the body and strep infections that require Emergency Room visits and doctor visits so often that you feel as if you have invested in their practice. Then, your 15-year-old begins to develop severe abdominal pain, breathing difficulties and pain so severe they require emergency attention on several occasions. Next, over a several week period of time you watch your 2-year-old child develop more and more neurological symptoms and you have to watch as they go unresponsive after a seizure, pupils dilating, unable to use his legs due to the spread of infection, and rushed to the Emergency Room. Then you watch your daughter screaming in pain, unable to move. Another Emergency Room visit. You invest weeks, months, years of daily therapists at your home to assist you brush your 2-year-old’s teeth, bathe him, because you have no idea why he screams and cries during bath time, brushing hair, putting on lotion or brushing his teeth. To them, it feels like sand paper on their gums. To them, a simple touch, feels as if they’ve been hit.Your heart is in pieces because your children have been robbed of their childhood and teenage years. You have lost business opportunities, friends, family relationships. At this time you start to realize these neurological symptoms your child is experiencing are quite similar to ones you've had yourself. Then, you realize all the members of your family have started to have constant headaches, nausea, irritability, sinus infections, memory (brain fog) and blurred vision, itching/burning skin, skin rashes, chronic joint/muscle pain, open sores, nervous & neurological issues and strange mood swings. You ask yourself, what is the connection? You tell your doctors that you think something in or around your home must be making you all have similar symptoms. They think you're absolutely NUTS, act as if they've never heard such a thing, and tell youthat you're an over-concerned parent. You research hours and hours of each day to find many of your health problems right before your eyes. You leave your home in fear this thing called Toxic Mold could be the culprit. You seek help in figuring out how you will continue to pay the bills and rent you cannot live in, having to pay for tests to get your home completely tested to know the possible dangers to your family. You seek help everywhere within and outside your state. Feeling beyond alone and your back is up against the wall. Your voice won’t be heard, but you continue fighting and pushing your way through until someone listens. It becomes extremely exhausting and discouraging to say the least. Thoughts of taking your own life become more and more frequent. You have fought as hard as you could, but you don’t want to lose your life because of it. So you don’t have to TRY to convince your loved ones, your Doctors, the school teachers. You can’t bear seeing your kids sick and in pain each and everyday. Then your daughter’s grades start to fall and the absences become so frequent. The school starts to question your parenting due to excessive days missed and excessive days being tardy.You contact your local health department, your state health department, the Dept. The CDC, and the attorney general's office. The most help you receive is from the State Dept. of Health telling you that it sounds like you have a problem called “Sick Building Syndrome”. They also say it requires an environmental company for testing and this is the homeowners responsibility. You then reach out to social media and reach out to many others nationwide going through these illnesses. You get your home tested and are told that your home has toxic mold and it is very dangerous to your family. Then you are told to leave immediately and all of your personal belongings….clothing, furniture, toys….EVERYTHING must be left behind.My little brother, Cameron has been extremely sick the majority of his life. He is one of the strongest kids I know. I admire how courageous he is. I get a little choked up thinking about all that he’s been thru. Despite his traumatic experiences; hooked up to machines, connected to wires, blood & needles, bright flashing lights, loud beeping sounds, being poked and pricked by doctors & nurses, he somehow manages to have a smile on his face. Unfortunately, it’s become 2nd nature to him. In 2009, Cam’s first emergency room visit was the beginning many ER visits. He developed RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) & Bronchiolitis at 3 months old. Cameron is now 7 years old. His past & current symptoms, illnesses/diagnosis are as follows:He’s had (15) chronic ear infections . Chronic pharyngitis, chronic sinusitis, chronic allergic rhinitis, dermatitis, esophageal reflux, mastoiditis, chronic streptococcus throat infections, scarlet fever, chronic fevers, malaise & fatigue, pneumonia, upper respiratory infections, bronchiolitis, joint/leg pain, muscle weakness, headaches, seizures, recurring bacterial & viral infections, coxsackie virus, cellulitis skin infections, conjunctivitis, iron and vitamin deficiencies, autoimmune disease, osteomyelitis, mycoplasma pneumoniniae infections, chronic throat pain, abdominal pain, enlarged lymph nodes, asthma, toxic effect of lead compound, tonsilitis.I could see how my mom’s concerns & frustrations were building up. How is any of this even possible for a little baby to be so sick without knowing WHY. No reasons ever given as to what the root causes are. My mom is up all night taking care of Cameron and researching on the computer in hopes to finding some answers. In 2010, My little brother was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder PDD-NOS and Sensory Processing Disorder. Cameron and my mom were blessed with the best therapists who came to our house 7 days a week to work with Cameron. As I watched my Mom trying to do her best with taking care of me and my sister, Aly, I also observed a very worried & heart- broken mom. Doing all she could to stay strong! My mom not being able to work, has tried and tried her best, using any money she does get to pay for medical treatments and detox/cleansing that our family needs as an attempt to get better, but that’s led to neglect to being able to pay for necessary bills and even having little food in the house.For years of not feeling well myself , along with my mom, a single mom at the age of 42 who has been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (ASP). A disorder in which the immune system mistakenly attacks normal proteins in the blood and Metabolic Myopathies (muscle disease) that has caused her to put her profession asa photographer on hold due to the severity of muscle weakness. My 15 year old sister who's been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic painful sore throats, cobblestones in her throat, and Epstein- Barr virus, and G.I. issues, Gastroparesis, muscle weakness, asthma, chronic sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, vocal cord dysfunction. My 7 year old brother who has neurological issues, tremors, seizure disorder, grey matter heterotopias, brain lesions, immune system issues. These diseases and disorders I have listed are not even close tothe entirety of their issues. You might be wondering how this came about and why my family has been stricken with these illnesses. Well, during the "SnowvemberStorm," one of the worst snowstorms in WNY history. Our family was forced to go withoutheat in our house for 7 days during the storm. Due to issues with theproperty owner. The furnace had accumulated debris, mold, sticks/twigs, garbage, dead birds & bird feces, and slow leaking carbon monoxide. It was considered by the fire department to be a serious fire hazard & concerns for serious health issues. A few days prior to the storm hitting, wewere subject to septic flooding in our basement, bathroom, kitchen and living room. As a result the septic system backup that caused a leakage of sewage, ruined our appliances, furniture, clothing, and pretty much everything else of daily use. As a result of both instances, verified by gas company, water authority, town sewer department that the septic flooding resulting from inadequate care & maintenance. Subsequently, my brother developed a septic illness, sever vomiting, abdominal pain and a 103.4 fever.Even the immediate neighbors said they had not been feeling well. All of these events were confirmed by other professionals that our homeenvironment is the culprit to our health issues. A bitter sense of relief to finally have some answers.My mom spent every waking moment reseaching about environmental toxins and toxic mold exposure. She has spent the last year and continues educating herself, speaking to other mold survivors, communicating with top mold physicians, developed friendships with others who's lives have been badlyaffected by this. My mom has dedicated her time in learning about the deadly consequences of toxic mold and learning fromothers what it takes to come back from this.Some of molds that we have been exposed to are Stachybotrys, Penicillium, Chaetomium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Smuts, Periconia, and Myxomycetes. I feel helpless! It's hard seeing my mom now going thru these illnesses herself. She has been the one taking care of all of us. I do my best to emotionally and physically help my mom and siblings as much as I can. I try to contribute financially as much as I can, but it doesnt cut it. This has resulted in a day-in and day-out stress filled life for us all. I myself have been considered to be in the allergy stage of mold exposure. All I care about is seeing my family get better and get the treatments they need to get better progressively. I know that much of this will be an ongoing struggle for the rest of our lives. The whole purpose of me writing this is because we have exhuasted every possible resource and with my mom not being able to work, she cannot provide for her family alone. So I have swallowed every ounce of pride I have and am asking for your help. The funds will be used to pay for the doctors, ongoing treatments/tests, detox, therapy, nutrition, catching up on bills unpaid for serveral months, utilities, groceries, and trying to get our lives back in order. My mom, brother & sister are very hypersensitive to chemicals, pesticides, dust, molds. We are still recovering from our move. Our possessions are far and few between and any contributions that youre willing to make will go a long way. You will be helping a family that would give every cent that we have to regain even a small part of our health back. I’m blessed to have a Mom like mine. Her kids are her world and her everything. She has dedicated her life to provide for us, love us, care for us, protect us, & teach us. Her sacrifices go beyond self-less acts, without question. My mom would go to the ends of the earth for us. She continues to put herself last. As her son, I am now putting her first and I’m doing what she would do for me. Thank you for taking the time to hear our families' story and for willing to help my family. I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Please help make a difference by supporting my brother, Cameron, and family by making a small donation to https://www.LFEBridge.com/camchristianoThank you, Joe Christiano
Artículos relacionados
