142: Finding Hope in the Midst of Mold: The Inspiring Story of Fallon & Stevie

Hello again, everyone, and welcome to today's show. If you're one of the 130 million people that are dealing with Sirs Lyme disease, autoimmune disease, or other conditions that are impacted by mold on a daily basis, and you need to learn how to eliminate that exposure, then you're in the right place. My name is Brian Carr, and you're listening to Mold Finders Radio.

Hey, everyone, what's going on? Today's a little different. I'm really excited about today, actually. Posted real quick, everyone, let me turn on my notifications off, otherwise it's going to blow up like crazy.

Anyway, so I, I put out an episode a couple episodes ago talking about this text that I got and sort of what it meant to me when I read it. And so after I got the text, I then, you know, was kind of messaging back with the person who sent it and was like, hey, would you be willing to come on the show and just talk through this a little bit? Because I think there's a lot of value in understanding not only, like, how to handle this stuff, but also that, like, it can be handled right. I think there's a lot of, like, value and in knowing that this isn't some, like, dead end thing that we can't figure out. Like, there is a path to the end of all this stuff. And while I talk about it, sometimes it's, you know, I can only say things so many times. It's nice to hear other people talk about stuff and hear how it goes. So she said yes, which I was very excited about. So, everyone, I'm going to introduce you to Fallon, and Fallon is somebody that's going to kind of talk through her experience a little bit and hopefully give you guys a little extra jolt of, of hope and, and positiveness going into whatever day is you listen to this, that there's, there's a road here, there's a way to get out of this on the other side, so. Fallon, hi. Thanks for joining.

Thank you for having me. Yeah, I'm just grateful for your podcast and for just all the free information that you put out because. And also like the series of things that have led me to your podcast. I mean, they're all kind of connected with the mole guys and Mark Levy and all of that. I started with the Dr. Lowe podcast, which led me to Mark, which led me to a free consult call, and then he led me to your podcast. And I was just grateful for that whole process since we, we do rent a home and we were not getting help from Our landlord, and, I mean, I see it in my Facebook mold groups time and time again. They're like, oh, my landlord said it's not mold. Well, we got the very similar type of treatment where it was just a leak. And then they came in, and the property management sealed up the le, which it was coming from over four years we were living there. It was coming in from a DIY bathroom remodel that we found out later. He didn't properly seal the fixtures to the wall. And then I also learned later that the tile was, like, a kitchen tile. It was not supposed to be in the bathroom. I think, like, the barrier wasn't even installed. So there was a lot of water getting into that wall over four years, but it wasn't enough for us to, like, see a flooded carpet or a flooded floor. And then we'd go on vacation for 5, 10 days or however long, and we come back, and we'd always smell a little musty smell. But we just thought maybe it was because the house was closed up, and, you know, we'd everything out, and then it would go away. But we never really, you know, could see anything. But our health was declining. My husband didn't really have anything going on with him. But as soon as I moved into that house, the first winter, I started getting Raynaud's, which is, like, numbness and blue feet and just really weird things.

You're the first person, by the way, I've ever heard say that my dad had Raynaud's, and I was a little. You know, I was young, right? And. And so, you know, I didn't know any better or anything. And, remember, he went to all these doctors, and they were just like, it's one of those things that happens that you can't fix. And, like, again, being, like, young, like, I was probably in high school sort of when that happened, not knowing anything, really, and it's just like, oh, that's. We went to the doctor. That's just what it is. And apparently, our bodies just turn to shit later on in life, and we're screwed. And now, like, hearing. I mean, there's a reason for all these things that happen to us. It doesn't just happen for no reason right now. Some of it is more natural stuff that happens. Some of it's prompted by things that are going on. But, like, there are reasons why things are happening. It doesn't just happen because you woke up one day, sorry, that's the first time I've heard somebody say, rayna. It's tied to all this. And it's just like. I just, like flashbacks. So.

Yeah, you know, I think it's probably something like a symptom that maybe gets missed, because at first I was like, okay, well, maybe it was just a coincidence when I left the house, but I was looking back at pictures from last year, and around this time when it was the worst, after they came in and sealed off that leak over those three weeks that we were in that house, things got drastically, drastically worse, to the point where, like, it is absolutely the mold and my feet look like I was dead. Like, I took pictures of. Like, there were purple, blue. Like, I had no circulation. It was definitely at the worst, was last winter, and then this winter. They're. They're still there, but it's a lot better.

Can we explain Raynaud's real quick? Cause I don't think, like, it's not something I ever see come up in the groups or, like, the Instagram mold circles or anything. So you just want to give, like, a quick explanation on what it is so people know.

Yeah. So it's a circulation problem. Your fingers and toes can go numb. And what happened to me in the very beginning was it was just like, one finger would turn white. I still do get them sometimes times in my fingers, but not like I was. And it'll just come. It's, like, completely like you put your finger in a bowl of ice, and it just comes out of nowhere. And then usually, you'll notice symptoms when you get, like, in the bathtub or in the shower. Your feet, like, change colors. The bottom of my feet will go numb when I get in the shower. Any kind of temperature change will trigger it. And then, you know, I love snowboarding, and it's really unfortunate because it's. I have to put, like, warmers in my socks. And, like, is. I feel like my snowboard career is coming to an end here.

Which, I mean, I remember, like, if my dad, like, would grab. You know, my dad. I look back now at all the things of what his lifestyle was, and a lot of what happened made sense when he passed away seven years ago. So, like, I was. But now understanding, like, how the body works way more. Like, I. I kind of see, like, I was going. But he drank, like, diet soda a lot, and he. You know, whatever. But he would go and grab, like, a 2 liter out of the fridge, and his fingers would all turn white and numb. And he was a dealer. I was from. I'm from Vegas. He was a dealer at a casino. He literally had to leave probably half of his shifts mid Shift because his fingers went down because it was cold in the casino, he couldn't feel the cards. So he like couldn't work off of doing that either. Right. So it's really crazy. It was a really crazy thing. I didn't think we'd go down this road. But it's just something that if anybody is like noticing that, like that's it's a real thing and just there's clearly a correlation, as you're saying, to an improvement. You know, I went back to handle my dad's place after, you know, after he passed away. And I mean there's. There's multiple areas in the house where there's more problems now that I know what I'm looking for and I know what I'm doing. Right. Like it was multiple walls in different rooms. Like roof leaks had happened. Actually a really bad roof leak had happened in the time that I had kind of not been there. And it was like in the garage. Water, big old water. Stay in the garage. Like, oh my God, when did this happen? Like why, why didn't you tell me about this? Right? And then next. And then I leave and when I come back to clean up and kind of get package the house, to sell the house and everything, the ceiling had collapsed in the garage. Like that's how bad the roof leak was. So is. Is crazy not to say that's the only reason it happens, but it definitely has, you know, that stuff has an impact. Anyways.

Sorry. Yeah. No. Do you think that a lot of his health issues. I don't know what he passed from. If you don't want to share, you don't have to. But. But do you think a lot of that had to do living in molds?

I don't know. I think it's a combination of just what his lifestyle was too. He was.

So there's a couple of things that happened.

He.

What was the first thing that happened? Well, he had heart issues for a long time. So when I was in high school, he had a heart attack. He had bypass surgeries, had some things that were going on. So it's cardiovascular stuff that was going on, which we know now like from research that chronic inflammation is one of, is like the number one cause of some of these things. Right. So now you backtrack, like what does chronic inflammation look like? You could tie it back to gut, right? So like that bad diet and everything that was being eaten creates leaky gut, creates chronic inflammation in the body that ties to then these more kind of like well known cardiovascular things. But the Doctors don't ever backtrack it to that. Right. They just say, okay, you know, and at that time, it was. We didn't know we knew about diet now. So, like, at that time, it's like, cholesterol's like, stay away completely, like, eat all red meat. It was like, very different, you know, diet. Right. So, you know, I think some of that just kind of the learnings and just general, like, health and. And diet and stuff, like, that was part of it. But listen, the house had stuff going on too, right? So there's, you know, is it one or the other? Is it a combination? It's probably a combination. But I know when I went back, I saw. Found multiple things when I went back that had been going on because I hadn't been there in a few years, that hadn't been going on. So, like, that's at least a few years of that that had kind of been happening sort of on top of it. So who knows? It's so hard. And it's hard to backtrack it all too, like, emotionally to backtrack. And I feel like people do this too. It's like, for me, with anything, I'm the kind of person that something happens, I deal with what happens. And I don't really want to, like, do a postmortem on the whole thing and, like, relive it all and do all that. I kind of want to, like, make peace with whatever it is and move on and be okay with it. And so that was sort of like the approach that. That I took with it, because there were things that went on and how the treatment happened. There were things that. I mean, there's so many things that went on that, like, now looking back was, like, a problem and, like, you know, could I have. Could I filed lawsuits and different things for information, not getting passed to proper doctors and then getting medicated, something you shouldn't have been medicated, because they didn't look like I could have done all of that. But it just, like, emotionally, for me, wasn't, like, worth it, you know, to do that. So.

Yeah, anyways, I think that's actually a really good point. So my dad actually passed away seven years ago, and I'm very much like you. I'm like, it's done. Let's move forward. What's the next positive thing that's going to happen? And I think that has helped us in our healing journey. But.

Living through this mold stuff has really made me look at some of his health issues and how things correlate. Trying to Figure out, you know, different things about myself that I didn't know. I wish I could ask him about some of his health history now. So if you're fortunate to have parents, you know, both alive, definitely dig into some of that because I think that's very important, especially later if you get some of this, like, autoimmune kind of stuff coming on from mold or whatever might be the trigger. But my parents actually had a mold story, which I, like, don't even. I was so not in tune with what was happening that I. I moved forward. It was something like a story happened to them, but it was very traumatic for both of them. And actually, my dad ended up passing away six months after that happened. And I never, ever thought it could be related to that house, but they threw away everything. They moved. It was in the middle of his brain. Cancer treatments. And, like, looking back, I'm like, you know, I don't know if that's what, like, fully put him on the edge, but it definitely did not help him living in that house for even a short amount of time, because he was only in that house for a couple months. And then they moved, and then he. He went into hospice about six months after that. So mold seems to kind of just follow you around, I guess.

I mean, the truth is, it's. You know, it's like the thing. It's like. It's like it's everywhere. What do you do? You know, it's. There's a lot of things in life where it's everywhere could be the answer. And if you just accepted that it's everywhere all the time, things would be a lot worse. Right? And I mean, one, like, really bad example. I mean, it's a good example, but not something that's, you know, you talk about it. Maybe you're not supposed to talk about it in this way, but, like, all these shootings that are going on everywhere it's happening, it's happening all the time. It's being normalized. It's a problem, right? We shouldn't just be like, oh, somebody got shot. That's what happens. People get shot. Like. Like, that's the equivalent of saying, oh, this has something. And it's slowly. It's slowly, you know, caus me chronic issues and possibly dying earlier. Whatever. It's there, you know, it. It has more of an impact because of the way it happens in these, you know, with, like, a shooting or something. It's just like, a very different, obviously, thing that's going on. Right? So there's more attention. There's more immediate hurt, there's more immediate pain, there's more immediate reaction. It's something that everyone can grab a hold of because they understand it. Like there's a lot of different things that go on with that. But it's, it's the idea of normalizing something that happens all the time, even though it's a bad thing. And I think that's like, just as like people we need to get. Because it's a human nature thing. I think it's like a coping mechanism. But as like people, we need to like, understand what's not okay. And there's a lot of things in this world that are not okay. There's a lot of things that are getting better and there's a lot of things that are okay. Right. So like, there's all of that. But if, if we don't like, try to adjust and adapt and fix these things, even if it's just for our personal, you know, selves, you know, not even like, you know, big picture, like helping the world stuff, but even just for you and for me. I know that this house is a problem. It's everywhere. I get it. Cool. How do I understand how to find one that's not as bad of a problem or how do I address the issues properly? Because I know it's everywhere and I'm more aware of it and things like that.

So yeah, yeah, yeah. That is so my husband is more on the team. Like molds everywhere. I don't know what you want to do next. And it's true, it is everywhere. But it's like, well, are we going to heal in this home or are we not going to heal in this home? Like, is it where on the line is it? And I also think it depends, like what we were exposed to was a water damaged building for a very long time. Like, is there an active water problem here? Because I think that could be a huge part. I mean, yes. Even if it's an old mold problem, which I'm sure this house has plenty of mold that I don't really want to know about. But I don't think there's any water. Active water problems at the moment.

Yeah. So. So let's take a step back. Let's set this up a little bit. So just so everyone knows, Fallon is not a client of ours at all. Has literally not paid us a dime, has.

Had a couple text interactions with me on the mobile phone, but nothing to the point of where there's like consulting going on in any way or anything like that. Right. Literally has gone through and taken the stuff that I've put out and created and figured a bunch of stuff out to the point. I think the. The hook on this is. Let's talk about kind of what your daughter's situation was at the beginning and where it was and what you did and kind of how you dove through certain things. But the. The. The huge thing here, guys, is that, like. Is that, like, yes, like, cool if you have us come out and look at your place? It's awesome, right? It would probably speed up the process and make it a lot easier. But, like, there's a. There's. I'm trying, I'm trying, but it's hard to organize all of it in a way where you're like, this is what I need. And I've got, you know, 500 hours of stuff out there, and it's like, how do I get that in a way, to give someone exactly what they need? So it takes time to digest and understand and learn the concepts and stuff. And that's. That's what you did. You put in the work. Right. So I'd love to just kind of hear about sort of what was happening, you know, with your daughter. What got you thinking about this stuff, how you. What you found, how you used it? Like, different things like that, I think would be really helpful.

Yeah. So we moved into that house.

In 2018. I got pregnant. Actually. No. 2017. I got pregnant maybe, like, nine, 10 months later. And I didn't realize. I mean, Raynaud's was the only kind of weird thing that was going on. It was pretty fresh. And then I got pregnant, and everything changed. And I just thought, oh, this must be a bad pregnancy. Or, like, I'm just having a rough time. And I gained 70 pounds. I don't weigh very much, so that's a lot. And I was miserable. I was. I had every symptom that was not serious. Like, every symptom that you could think of that isn't, like, going to put me in the hospital. And.

Then I had Stevie, and everything was fine, but I still didn't really feel fine. Like, my hip pain went away. Like, I had. You know, it didn't hurt as bad because I started losing some of the weight, but I was emailing my doctors time and time again. I was going back through these emails after we moved out of the mold house, and I was like, wow, how did I not realize how sick I was? Like, it's like that saying, they say if you cook a frog in a boiling pot of water, it's just Going to get cooked because it doesn't know the water's heating up. But when it jumps out, if you throw it in, it'll jump out if you do it all. At one time, I was literally the frog just getting cooked and it just was one thing after the next. I just didn't put it all together. And when we got our score back, I cried for probably, probably two days. Like I was just bawling. And I'm not like much of a crier. And so it was because I realized, like, this is probably why I've been so sick. And I've never said the words I am so sick. Like I've never been one to feed into. I have like a chronic illness or anything like that. And all of a sudden it hit me like I felt like I had permission to say, like, I can't do this anymore. Something has, has to change. And it all started with my daughter. Honestly, if I didn't have Stevie, I don't think I, I would definitely still be living in that house because fight differently for a child. But she was born and she had a reaction to one of her vaccines, which left her with like chronic diarrhea for two weeks. A day before, a day before her, the lockdown. So we didn't really, we could have all telehealth. And I think that was the step one of kind of like her gut issues. But I do think that a lot of it maybe is because she was living in a water damage building and she was conceived in that house and her immune system just could not handle what, you know, anything extra. And then we found that moving forward, she really, really had a lot of upper respiratory issues. She had a cron, like chronic runny nose cough. And in the middle of the pandemic, like to take a little child, a one year old to the grocery store, we would clear the aisle in a heartbeat. Like people were disgusted by us because my daughter always was just sick. And I'm like, she's not sick though. It's just something I don't know what to tell you. And so she was on two inhalers by 18 months. She had eczema, she had rashes, she had all of the things you talk about in your podcast. And so when I was, and then at 2 years old, I, I wasn't really thinking autism. I was thinking like, I started reading about sensory processing disorder. She started walking at nine months. She was very, very active. Like we had to stop breastfeeding early because she couldn't sit there. Like she couldn't Focus. Like, she was always just like all over the place. And like, my. I could feel my nerves and my nervous system just like getting triggered all the time. Even at like 1 years old, because she was just so active that she would fall off. Like, she would climb up the kitchen table in like a minute. She climbed the kitchen cabinets, the refrigerator. It was like I couldn't take my eyes off of her. So we ended up trying to get into occupational therapy. I thought maybe if I could figure out like a sensory diet for her and she had sensory processing disorder, things could get a little bit easier for both of us. And then we came out with an autism diagnosis a day after her second birthday. And I wasn't surprised. Like, I had cried many days before that, like, feeling like, okay, she might have autism or she might have something, but either way, I know something is, is wrong. So I wasn't like, shocked by the diagnosis. I think my husband was and still kind of is because it is hard to have a child who has so many health issues and to label. Like, we love everything about our daughter. We never want to, like, hear autism. We don't want to change her. But sometimes I wonder if it's more of her mold toxicity and some of those co occurring conditions. And now learning about, you know, pans and pandas. I remember listening to your podcast very early on when we were still at the hotel and just like, blown away. And then I got into my Facebook mold groups to learn more, and all of the parents had children on the spectrum. And I'm like, there is no, no way this is a coincidence. Like, why aren't people talking about this? That all of our kids were all in a mold group and most of our kids either have pans, pandas, or autism. So I started really feeling very convicted that those were all kind of connected or a trigger. And then I would go to my normal doctors. I took her to a pulmonologist, a neurologist, and nobody wanted to say the word mold. And I was like, this is not okay. Like, I feel a crazy person. So we got into a functional medicine doctor. We're doing all the diet stuff, supplements, homeopathy, and I don't know if that is the right way to healing. I'm not saying that that's what you have to do to heal. I think a lot of it is nervous system. But she. We have seen huge, huge changes in Stevie even before we started the functional medicine doctor. When we got her out of mold, we moved into the hotel. I'm sure there was mold there. I Mean, I was like at a heightened alert, like looking, inspecting the whole place, listening to your podcast on exactly what to look for. And you know, it was, it was better than where we were. That's all I know. So she started talking. She would say words like she wasn't non verbal but we couldn't communicate. She was two years and three months when we moved out of the house. She had just had an assessment at two years and she was labeled severely delayed in speech. And then she was being tested for selective mutism because she wouldn't talk to strangers or in public. And that lasted quite a while. But again, they think it might be like an anxiety kind of nervous system issue because that can shut kids down where they just can't speak in public.

And then six months later she graduated out of speech therapy. They said she was completely caught up. We started having our first, we had our first two sided conversation at the hotel about five or six weeks in and I was like, this is amazing. Maybe it's a coincidence. I kept saying maybe this is a coincidence every day. But then my husband really started to notice and he's not on t mo by any means. He's very supportive and he's along for the ride and he's not going anywhere. But he hates moles. I mean valid, right?

Yeah.

He started to really see, see the, the correlation. And then even like his parents, who is around Stevie quite a bit was like, wow, we really notice a difference. And she's just able to sit, sit still for the first time in her whole life and she's able to focus and she just seems like more engaged. So I don't know if we'll get her reevaluated. I'm not saying she doesn't have autism. I just feel like a lot of artistic autistic children are getting labeled autism when yes, they're autistic, but they also have a lot of co occurring health conditions that need to be addressed. And so I started an Instagram account right when she was diagnosed just to learn more. I'm definitely a researcher. And then it turned into kind of a mold, like I'm pissed off account. Like this is ridiculous. Doctors are not listening to us, like what is happening? And then I started meeting friends that I talked to probably daily who have children on the spectrum. They're going through mold, they have pans, pandas. And we talk all the time, we bounce stories, you know, ideas off of each other and it's been so helpful. I think it's like my little passion project. Just because mold can be super lonely. Like, especially if your husband doesn't want to talk to you about mold or, you know, you live it every single day and you just need some people to talk to. So that's kind of the community that I've created for myself, selfishly. But I think it's also helping other people, too.

Yeah. So.

So talk about her now. So how's she doing now?

Yeah, so Stevie still has some. Some issues. And it's different. The week that I text you, she was. We call them autism days and non autism days, which I told her doctors. I'm like, I don't think autism has, like an on and off switch. I mean, maybe, but it's like, some days I think I'm crazy. I'm like, she's. She's not on the spectrum. She seems very typical. No one would even believe me if I said she has autism. And then some days it's very clear that she is on the spectrum and has some rigidity and trouble transitioning. And I think it has a lot to do with inflammation for her, specifically when she. Before she's getting sick. I can always tell. And some of the mold symptoms come back a couple days before she gets sick. And overall we've made huge progress. Though her rashes are gone, she still gets red cheeks, and that's usually a sign for me that it's inflammation. I think that our next steps for healing is just to really work on that nervous system and to calm it down, because I think she is stuck in fight or flight, and I feel that myself.

Yeah, I mean, the way you describe it, that's what it sounds like. She's in sympathetic mode all the time is what it sounds like.

So. Okay, so I'm just curious, like, we've talked through it. What are your plans for looking into that stuff? Like, what's your. Have you thought about it? Have you not. I'm not putting you on the spot or anything.

Yeah. Oh. We've gone down some long rabbit holes. So right now we're doing a lot of drops, like a lot of homeopathy and supplements. And unfortunately, that stuff is very expensive. I'm not saying that it doesn't work. I definitely think it does. But at some point you just kind of have to, like, decide, what are you going to do? Chase this, like, healing in layers for the rest of your life and during your bank account, unless you have a lot of money. But I'm just like a normal person, and I think we're going to stick with it for a little bit longer. But at some point, we're gonna have to change direction. And I think that if you don't heal your nervous system, none of those drops or supplements are really going to stick. Like, it might help, but I'm not sure from what we're seeing is. It's. It's a lot of different things. So we start. I saw a. I call her a body whisperer. I don't actually know her real title, but she's like a cranial sacral therapist. She does lymphatic drainage, and she works with the nervous system. So it's like a mixture of things. She's been doing it for her whole life and has, like, tons and tons of certifications that I don't know anything about. But she knows a lot about the brain and the sutures in the brain. And she's just work. She. I just went one time, and within that one time, we did, like, an ion foot detox bath. And then she worked on my nervous system. And. And to be honest, I was like, I just really want a good massage. Like, I'm so tired. And she didn't touch. Like, she barely touched me. She touched my head. She barely touched, like, my spine. And she worked on it for about 90 minutes. And I have never felt more relaxed in my life. Like, it felt like I had been at the spa all day. I was so tired. And I felt more connection with my daughter over those next couple of weeks. And so I do think that cranial sacral is something that we will continue to do and body work. And then the next thing that we're really looking at is I just got off the phone the place that we're going for our functional medicine doctors in Sacramento, and they referred us to a vision center. And I had already made a appointment with a vision center here in Walnut Creek, where I live. So I'm not sure what our next steps will be or who we will see. But this lady that I talked to, the doctor called me, the front office doctor called me, and I was blown away that I had just taken Stevie to a regular ophthalmologist. And she said she has astigmatisms in both eyes. She needs glasses. And when I talked to her about, we're seeing an occupational therapist for her retained reflexes and asked if that could be, like, kind of all the same in her vision. She, like, very dismissively kind of gaslighting, like, what. What does that have to do with her vision and retain reflexes, I think, are a huge, huge thing that our kids are struggling with, because trauma can.

Where your, your reflexes you should lose at four months. And again, I'm not like a doctor, I'm just a normal mom. So I'm going off of all my podcast research. Could totally be saying this wrong, but you're supposed to lose your reflexes at different ages. So four months, a year, 18 months, there's different ones and Stevie never lost those. And so some different things can trigger it. It can be like I got a virus when I was pregnant or it could have been something that happened to her at a certain age, like chronic diarrhea for two weeks when she was 4 months. It could have been any of those or just trauma like stress on the body in utero or out. And so it could definitely be mold related of why she hasn't lost her. Her or her reflexes have not integrated. But that is a huge part of it determines different behaviors. It can give you that fight or flight response. So one of the ones that we're working on is the moro reflex and that one is like your fight or flight. And so if you can integrate the moral reflex then you will calm down and be able to go into that parasympathetic. So.

A year ago I knew nothing about any of this. And so I guess it doesn't really matter like how much we know or don't know, but like the information starts on your podcast and then, you know, little by little you get connected with different podcasts and different people. And so the, the lady I was talking to yesterday about the vision stuff, the first thing she said is we're going to need to integrate some of her reflexes. And I'm like, thank God we're in the right place because I just went to an ophthalmologist, said that's not a thing and made me feel really dumb for saying it. And then she's also working on some like, I think it's called phyto. It's a frequency, like a light frequency for eyes and it helps reprogram her nervous system and she knew all about mold and like such a breath.

I was going to ask about that type of. There's. Oh, it's I think like it's neuro linguistic. No, it's linguistics. I forget. I. Dr. J. Bamora on the pod with him talked a little bit about it about the like the nervous system reprogramming stuff. I think Lauren Tessier talked about it in one of the ones I did with her too. But it's like your body, you said it like there's a trauma that happened now. And so now you have to retrain your brain to not react to certain things and trigger like the response that the trauma caused and all. It's super interesting. I don't know a whole lot about it, but it's like I've heard some of the doctors that I talked to, like on this and then offline too, talk about how they've like added that in as part of their overall treatment plan. Right? So like kind of address the physiological stuff, but then the next piece is to then start talking about the trauma piece, right? Like, you know, similar to. You have a veteran that comes back. There's like all this trauma stuff that has to get addressed. Like, like our bodies and what we go through. There's a version of that that occurs to us too. Right. And so then that can cause long term effects too. So especially I can imagine at such a young age for her too, like what that means and what that looks like.

Yeah. I read the Body Keeps the Score. It's a book on trauma and it's basically that it talks a lot about, like, really, it's very hard to read. So trigger warning. If you have had trauma or, you know, really hard things happen, you can be very triggered in that book. Because he does not sugarcoat the trauma examples. But the entire time I read it, I just was crying because I was like, this is, this is what has happened to my daughter through living, through mold. It's hard to explain to people, but when you find the right physicians who understand trauma is anything that stresses your body, and then you say mold and they understand, then you know you're in the right place. Because it does really start with that trauma in the nervous system, I believe.

Yeah, it's. I mean, it's definitely a component of it. You know, it's so. It's so funny. Like, you. You're probably in the same web of people, like on social media that I'm connected with, I would imagine, at this point. But like, I start seeing themes of what they all start talking about kind of around the same time. It's like, oh, now trauma's all of a sudden coming up on, like all these different people that I talk to. Where did this come from? Right? And then I like start diving in, like, oh, man. Then I'll call one of them and I'll like, talk to one, you know, one of them. Just like get a feel for, like, what's going on. Like, oh, okay. Like, I get it. And it's just the. I've said it before, like the Internet's amazing. And it also really sucks at the same time. And it's, it's as good as you make it or as bad as you make it. And it's the effort you put into being own, like gatekeeper of what information gets to your brain and your eyes that. That can either benefit or hurt you with the Internet. Right. And so if you're screening and surrounding the right people, I think I, I think I did an episode on this like a while ago. I was where I was like, how to curate your social media feed to like optimal something, something or whatever. And it was just like you. I mean, you see this stuff. It's what you see, it's what gets ingrained in you, right? So, like, there's a lot of really good information out there. Let me, let me ask, so of all the stuff that you went through, like, of our stuff that you were diving in, was there a particular concept that had the most impact for you? Was it a particular conversation I had with somebody? Was it something like, what was the biggest impact thing that you pulled from all the stuff that we put out?

That's a great question. I think it was like, I can't live here anymore. Like, I was very clear on I need to.

I could live there if I owned the house and the landlord was. Or the landlord was going to properly remediate it, but he wasn't. So I think that was the one thing that I was very clear on where my husband was not clear on that. Like, I think he thought we were going to be moving back in. So, yes, like, our mold problems are not gone. Like, we still have some health issues that we're working through, but night and day difference. Like, my daughter is so much better. And I don't mean better because she no longer has autism. I mean better because her health is better. Like, she is more comfortable in her own skin. Her anxiety is decreasing. My anxiety is decreasing. So I think it's just like that confidence that it can be done. It is hard to throw away. I mean, we didn't throw away everything, but we threw away a lot of. Of things. A lot of things. And part of it was I just, like, I couldn't look at any of it. It made me sick, Sick just to look at some of this stuff. Like, I didn't want to be around any of it. It's like mold has an energy or something, but it was the confidence knowing that, like, there's people who've done this. I can learn from them, I can do what they do and I can Advocate for myself and advocate for my daughter, even though most of the. Of our friends and family think we have lost our mind.

Yeah. Which is a very normal story. So, I mean, I'll say this. I. The whole purpose and like, starting the podcast three years ago, whenever I started it and doing all the stuff that we do and even how we inspect was originally born was because we were getting people that wanted us to help them in other places, and we couldn't get there. So we had to figure out a way to get there, and we had to figure out tech so we could understand and not miss stuff while we're there. And we like. And keep, like, everything that we've done has been around the idea that we have to, like, make this. We have to have accessibility, be a thing that anybody can get to. And, you know, while obviously there are different, like, business components to it, and if you want someone to come to your house, there's a cost to that. Right. But, like, I. I just feel like, like to hold all of that information in and only do it for the people that are going to have us come out is me actually not, like, serving my real purpose and, like, what the world is. Right. Like, yes, you want us to come out, we will do it. It will probably be faster. It will probably, you know, whatever. Right. Like, that's fine. But, like, what about the person that. That can't do that? Like, it's not their fault. Right. Like, you shouldn't be punished because you can't do that. And so that's always been in the back of my mind on all these things that, that I try to make and create and seeing, you know, it's just seeing, like, you know, your original text come through and then talking with you on how, again, like, I don't know how to emphasize this enough. Fallon has literally not ever talked to me outside of a couple text messages or spent a dollar on anything that we offer. Right. And was able to take information that. And make positive, like, meaningful change in what's going on. And, like, it's there. You have to commit to. To listening and defining and. Or doing it. Right. But if. But if you are up for doing that and taking that on, it's there. I'm doing everything I can to put it out in a way that's there. Right. And so I'm just really, really happy that. That you were able to take that and. And, like, have a real impact. Like, people ask me, like, how I got into this. Like, you know, every time I do an interview, it's like, hey, how'd you get in this? Like, the first question. And it's like, it's now like in my head, like the scripted thing. Well, you don't go to school to do this. It's like this whole thing, and there's the whole story of all this stuff. But the. The biggest thing that cemented me in wanting to do this after I had kind of got in with Mark and he, you know, shadowed him for a while, I was like, this is cool. Is the first appointment that I did on my own. The very, very first one I went into a house is this guy even sent me like, thank you gifts for three years afterwards. Like, after I did this every Christmas, I would get like a box of Godiva chocolates and a card for me and my wife for like three years. And he super sensitive, super mega sensitive. Like, he could not be in a place. He had to wear a mask out. And about before, like, Covid was a thing, he couldn't be anywhere. So he had multiple chemical sensitivity that triggered from all the mold stuff that was going on. It's just like this cascade of stuff. Stuff that was going on, going in this high rise. This guy was a wealthy guy. He was trying to buy this, you know, like, high rise, super awesome condo, which was super awesome. And I go in and long story short, I kind of uncover this, like, historical flood that happened off of like little, little tiny signs that were like, no more than like a quarter of an inch in size that I saw in a couple different rooms. Like, this doesn't add up. Do some figuring out realize that there was an occupant in this place, an old guy, he forgot that he turned on the tub one day because he had memory issues and flooded the whole place. And they came in and painted and did all these things. But what they did is they put the same baseboards back on the walls. So the little tiny bubbly signs on the bottoms of the baseboards. And it wasn't a lot. And they tried to tell me it was the cleaners. Oh, well, they clean. And so they put water against that. Well, first off, doing that is still a problem, right? If you're throwing water against the wall, I don't care.

But then dive in. I'm like, hey, I take the guy aside. I'm like, hey, let's call the building management on our own and let's ask them instead of the realtor that's in here trying to sell us the house. Guys, whoever you're talking to understand their motives for answers they give you right Realtor wanted to sell the place. They didn't want to actually tell him what went on. Right? So I, like, figure out a way to keep her occupied and take him out the other door and, like, hey, let's call these guys, call them, find out this massive flood happened. And he tells me, this is literally the first appointment I do on my own after I've been with Mark for a year, like, on every. On every job, like, learning from him. And the guy tells me at the end that I saved his life. And.

I mean that. What. What can you do in this world where you get a direct reaction from someone that tells you that, like, there's not many things you can do that validate your existence other than something like that? And that's where, you know, that's like, the addiction now with this, for me, is that I want that to happen. Like, selfishly, I want people to tell me that because it makes me feel good. But also, you could go to sleep at night knowing that you're doing something that's, like, good, you know? And so anyways, that's the reason for all this stuff, and I'm really happy that you were able to kind of pull that out of this too. So it's. It's an awesome story.

How many people don't, like, feel comfortable texting you or. But are binging your podcast? I mean, there's a lot more people who maybe don't even tell you that you. You did save their lives. You got them out of a house or you helped them remediate that. You'll. You will never know.

I. It's really weird when you think about it. It's. It's. I actually kind of try not to think about it sometimes. Almost like, I don't even know how to, like, take all of that in, in a way, like, what's the real impact of what's going on? But it's like, what can I grab onto today? And I think you're right. I mean, it's the same with reviews on, like, Yelp and stuff. Like, only so many percentage of people actually do that. Right? They actually do share what's going on. So let's. Any final things that you feel like you want to throw out there at the end of this, and then we can wrap this up.

I just. I just hope that our story gives people hope. I mean, it's not easy. It's still not easy on some days, but it's a lot better. And, like. But I'll take better any day as well, as long as things are getting better. I'm okay. Some. Some days they feel like they're going backwards, but, like, we really have so many blessings. We are getting better, we are healing every single day. And also, like, we are learning a lot. It has changed our lives for the better. We are healthier, we eat healthier, we make better choices. And in the long grand scheme of things, like, I'm grateful for our mold experience because, like, my worldview has completely changed. I'm a better advocate for myself, for my marriage, for my child, for. For everything. And so, like, it's taking all of the bad things. I could lift list all of them right now, like, the next hour, but I'm not going to because I'm going to focus on what's next and how this has changed me for the good. And I think it's hard, but you're going to get through it. And there's lots of resources out there for. For help.

Yeah, I think it's great. I think people need to hear that. Right? There's. It's not all doom and gloom all the time. It's not all, quote, fear mongering. Oh, that's not what the point of it is. The point of it is awareness, educated decisions. Do what's right for you. Like, that's the point of it. Real quick, so. So where are you living now? Are you in another spot? Are you in a temporary spot? Where are you now?

Yeah, we actually found a house right pretty close down the street from where we were. It's on the other side of our town, which is kind of small, so it's a couple miles away from where we were. And I don't know if we'll stay here. This is definitely, as always in my mind, been a. We're going to just catch our breath house and see what happens next. But our lease is renewing in May and we'll decide. There's a crawl space, so I don't need to say anymore. So we'll see. I'm not sure.

Well, listen, I.

I'll get you set up with Molefiner's method after this. So if you do want to look for something else, you'll have, like, the blueprint on how to look for something else.

Thank you. Yeah, we would love that. And I will definitely be diving in.

Yeah, yeah, it'll be. I hope it's helpful. And it's. It's like the. It's like the podcast all condensed into. Here's what you do this. Like, it's more of like an actual process than just me rambling for hours. So good for you for listening to me ramble.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story. Really appreciate it. I hope other folks got something out of it. I think that they probably will. And that's all I got. That's what I got.

Thank you so much for having me on, Brian.

All right, Bye.

Bye. Bye.

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