See the previous entry for the full backstory.
Our mold tests came pack positive. There is mold in the basement, as well as the ventilation system.
We are unsure what we are going to do next. Any advice is welcome.
Tomorrow, we move forward with whatever legal options we have. Woo-hoo! At least we know what is going on.
To be continued…
Those of you who are parents will immediately understand where I am today. If you are not, you may sympathize or empathize, but you may not actually “get it.”
Last Tuesday night, our 2 1/2-year-old, Ashton, came upstairs shortly after dinner and loudly proclaimed to Kelly, “Mommy, my tummy really hurts!” Well, we are on the other side of the whole potty-training thing, so we naturally assumed he simply needed to go. However, he usually wants to go alone. This time, he INSISTED that Kelly go with him.
As they left, I began cleaning off the table. About 60 seconds later, I heard Kelly scream. By the time I got to the bathroom (about 2 seconds later- I still have a little speed in me despite being old and fat), I found Ashton sitting on the toilet projectile vomiting and Kelly with her hands over her mouth about to join him. The smell was incredible. He did not have to go #2. That was not causing his tummy ache.
I have been around my share of kid-puke. Both of my kids got sick every time they cut teeth as babies. It is no big deal. This was different. I will not go into any further details. It was gross.
Ashton had issues several more times overnight and Wednesday morning, so Kelly and I decided to take him to the doctor Wednesday afternoon. This was our first visit to a doctor since being back in Cleveland. The doc pronounced it to be a virus and gave us instructions.
I took Ashton home and stayed with him the rest of Wednesday afternoon. He slept for most of it, but was still not keeping anything on his stomach, and what was coming out was not awesome, to say the least. On Thursday morning, Grandma took him to her house because I had to go to work since I was leaving for the MWOA Rally on Friday. I had to get stuff done. Kelly left for the rally that morning as well.
Ashton seemed to get much better Thursday morning while at Grandma’s. I had lunch with a friend and picked Belle up from school. I took her out to Grandma’s and brought Ashton home with me. (We had decided to keep them separated as much as possible since we were told he was VERY contagious. However, as you will soon see, he wasn’t.) We had been home about 30 minutes when he started all over again. I stayed with him all day and all night, on the couch in the living room. When he would get sick, I would pick him up and put him on the floor so he could do what he had to do in a pail I had put there.
Once, at about 4.30am, he was on his knees and had just finished his business with the pail. I was wiping his mouth when he looked up at me, completely groggy and lethargic, and said, “I love you, Daddy.” He almost whispered it. Then he literally collapsed on my lap. I held him for a while and absorbed the moment. It was as if he recognized that I was caring for him in the most disgusting situation, and he wanted to let me know he appreciated it. I will not lie and pretend that I did not get choked up. I have a lump right now simply recalling it.
I slept maybe 2 hours that night. He was on one end of the couch and I was curled up on the other, touching him the whole time so I would know if he moved. We got through the night and he seemed to be a bit better. He did not get sick the rest of the morning and, at about noon, I turned him over to Grandma and left for the Rally. He was still incredibly lethargic and weak.
He had been at Grandma’s about an hour when he started getting better. He started talking and wanting to eat. After a little while, he wanted to play. He was still weak (since he had not kept ANYTHING- even water- on his stomach for 3 days), but he still started to move. His recovery was almost miraculous.
I was driving to Sevierville when I heard about the recovery. Then it hit me and I almost had a stroke right there in my Element just south of Knoxville.
Seven weeks ago we had major rains and flooding in Cleveland. In fact, the basement of the house we rent flooded in a major way. It had minorly flooded back in November, but this one was major. We have been in a struggle with our landlord ever since to get this mess cleaned up. The smell was horrible (and still is), and the mess was incredible (and still is), but we had another primary concern.
Mold.
It became obvious that Ashton was experiencing mold sickness. When he was home, he was violently sick. When he was not home, he got better almost immediately. I have been having terrible headaches for the past several weeks, and Kelly has been experiencing very strong fatigue. After a little research on Kelly’s part, we discovered that all of these are symptoms of mold sickness. Over the weekend, not one headache for me. Over the weekend, Kelly felt more rested than ever, even though she actually slept LESS. Over the weekend, Ashton got completely better.
I cannot tell you the anger I am experiencing now. Kelly and I can take a lot, but physical danger to our babies is where the line is definitely drawn. Watching Ashton suffer, and I mean SUFFER, was terrible. The fact that it likely was preventable and due to the negligence and down-right greed of others is maddening. I cannot detail here all that we have tried to do to get this situation corrected.
We are not sure what we are going to do. We are exploring all options. For now, we are not taking our kids back to the house. Belle does not seem to have suffered any side effects, but we will not take a chance. We are washing all of their clothes before they wear them, and cleaning all of their toys before they play with them.
I know this has been a long entry. I just needed to vent. I will post again later with updates.
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