Toxic Mold Victim: My Story

My name is Darlene Berube, from Massachusetts and have been very ill from mold exposure since February 2006. My symptoms started out with a dry hacking cough, chest tightness that felt like an elephant was sitting on it, a throat that felt like it was constantly being strangled by someone's hands, not ever letting go. This is my nightmare, my journey.

With the struggles of being a mold victim, my quality of life was stolen from me as it is many many mold victim's across the states. I moved into my apartment that is housed in a building for disabled and elderly persons. I am not that old, though had been disabled due to a back problem. Did I know that a year after moving into my little safe haven, that I would be fighting for every breath that I take, no I did not. Did the onsite property management team know that these molds existed, yes they did.

Seventeen months later, I have an oxygen tank to help in aiding me to breath. I take inhalers and nebulizer treatments due to the asthma I have due to the toxic molds that are in my central air/heating system, and yes professionally confirmed. Passing out which led to the diagnosis of slowing of the brain or they call it also, intermittent brain waves due to toxic metabolic encephalopathy or the Central Nervous System. Another words, on my diagnosis it now reads, seizures. Allergic to the toxic molds found in my central air/heating system: aspergillus, pencillium, etc.

I have many other diagnosis since becoming ill from these silent killers. For someone like myself, that has never had any sort of breathing problem in my life of 50 years, being told I could go into shock at any time, being told to also wear a respirator mask, being told my cognitive ability has diminished to the extent that if my back problem got better, I could never go back to working as a nurse.

Where does this end, unfortunately my story being a mold victim will only worsen, and might not recover, as I am living in the toxic apartment, and building that has molds due to circumstances not in my control. I have no where to go, as many mold victim's are faced with the same issues. Being on disability for a previous health problem, my back, leaves me no recourse with the income that has been allowed.

Other housing authorities have waiting lists so long, sometimes it takes up to five years to get to the top. I have been on those waiting list for two years now. To get onto the medical emergency waiting list for Section 8, one you must get a doctor's letter which is not a problem, but your are faced with the must needed letter for this waiting list, from your landlord stating that the apartment you are currently living in is affecting your health due to the mold, on this part I loose. Even with the proof from professionals that the molds exist in my central air/heating system, in which they feel that their maintenance man fixed the problem by replacing little sections of insulation in two ducts in my apartment, that my problem has ended. My problem has not ended, if remediation had taken place by a professional, and maintenance on a as needed basis for the central air/heating system had been completed as needed, I would not be ill.

Our rights as citizens, as disabled persons, as elderly, as some that live here with all ready compromised immune systems, and those of us that are compromised now due to the toxic molds, who will help us. How many of us will die from the toxic molds here, before we get help? These are question's that I can not answer, and no one else has answers to.

Look on mold websites, listen to the mold victim's tell their horrific stories. This is a national health crisis that needs the attention now, before more of us do die from these illnesses. Molds attack any one from all walks of life, not just low income, not just elderly or disabled and if you read the news articles from all across the states, you will find many victim's that have had their lives torn upside down and literally destroyed.

My new website for mold victim's across the states:
The Nation's Indoor Environment -- Toxic Mold
www.moldenvironment.com