Sixth Month in the Low-Tox House

Let me say that without this house, I’d probably be dead.

Among other complications to my surviving extremely severe Toxic Injury (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), our young daughter needed scoliosis surgery this year.  The surgery and many complications following has necessitated medical equipment and chemicals into the house that tear down my health.

It has also meant days and weeks without my husband, since (thankfully) he’s at her side constantly during the hospital stays she has had to endure.

For 7 years, Steve:

• Helped me bathe, except rare times camping when I could do it myself.
• Made food that I can eat. (The older kids helped with this.)
• Washed bedding, towels, etc., sometimes multiple times, when they became contaminated. (The kids helped with this, too.)
• Helped me figure out what was causing acute reactions and removed it.
• Helped me get my environment the best we could.
• Took me to fresh air when I was having trouble breathing.
• Took me to a park to give my body a break, especially when I was having greater trouble eating or coping with pain.

The last place we lived, it was the first time we couldn’t find a place in the country since leaving the mold house.  I didn’t do well in town (pollution, neighboring Laundromats, gas stations), and my MCS became more & more severe.

Because of the severe, specific symptoms I was experiencing, I was in danger of heart attack, stroke, severe breathing problems, and un-treatable anemia.

By January 2016, I could barely get out of bed to fry an egg once a day.  I couldn’t be on computer at all.  My heart hardly ever worked normally.  My digestion was so bad I could hardly eat anything.   My pain levels were 4 – 9.

The last few weeks, baths were torturous.  Steve did everything he could, but when done, my pain levels were usually 8 or 9, my heart was racing, and I could not speak.

What was even more concerning is that this was all in the winter, before the use of herbicides and pesticides started up in the neighborhood.

For 6 years we hadn’t been able to find a rental in the country, away from agricultural spraying and other hazards, with no mold, that we could afford.   The last year or two, our camper was so contaminated (with herbicide, etc.) I got sick every time I went in to use the restroom.

So, how could I have dealt with all this without Steve, with more and more chemical use in the neighborhood as the spring went on?  Not to mention the chemical-filled medical supplies for our daughter when he did get home?

I couldn’t have.

Hopefully next month (when necessary chemicals “die down”???  when the summer heat is gone, when I reap the benefits of sweating all summer), I’ll have a better idea of improvement and new energy level.

For now, I’m glad to be alive.

Christa Upton       Black Hills Picture Books    Edgemont, SD   57735