Toxic mold forced a Texas family to leave their home. What you need to know about the dangers of mold

Kristina Baehr seemed to have it all: a successful law career and a wonderful family with newborn twins. They lived together in a beautiful house, which she considered her “forever” home. But a mysterious and insidious enemy was slowly undermining her health, her career, her marriage and her family.

The 9-year-old home of unsuspecting Baehrs of Austin, Texas has been infected by a common American enemy: toxic mold. Mycotoxins produced by mold caused health problems that were difficult to diagnose.

“I felt like I was hit by a truck,” Kristina Baehr said. “I started getting migraines that I didn’t understand. In the middle of the day, I felt drunk. I felt dizzy and lost. I’m losing and forgetting things.”

In the United States, thousands of people are struggling with mold growth in their homes. It is often hidden behind walls, buried under the ground or hidden in air ducts. Although it is difficult to determine the exact number of cases, mold has been found in all types of housing since military and public housing to bedrooms at faculty across the country. Social media groups dedicated to mold exposure, they have attracted tens of thousands of people to discuss ways in which mold has disrupted their lives.

It took several years for the Baehrs to figure out what was causing Kristina’s symptoms. Now she hopes to use the knowledge she has gained to help others in similar situations.

Initially, Evan Baehr attributed the groom’s complaints to problems accompanied by reconciling a demanding career with the parenting of four children.

“I wasn’t very sympathetic,” Evan Baehr admitted. “I said to myself, ‘Hey, we’re running hard, we have careers, we have young kids at home. Just get rid of it,’ which isn’t a great response.”

Then the children also got sick. Their eldest son Cooper had sinus problems. Seven-year-old Madeleine complained of frequent headaches, stomach problems, and severe anxiety and behavioral problems. Her youngest son Scott showed signs of a developmental disorder that became so severe that teachers wondered if he might have a serious disorder in the autism spectrum.

“[Scott] it melted for at least an hour a day, every day. But they just couldn’t calm him down and I thought something was going on, “said Kristina Baehr.

Desperate for answers, Kristina Baehr left her job as a partner in a law firm to focus on family health. After nearly three years of tests and visits to various doctors, she discovered that the whole family has non-standard levels. mycotoxinsproduced by certain types of molds and fungi.

“Scott’s mycotoxin result was through. The limit was supposed to be eight. He was at 108,” she said.

The Baehr couple hired construction experts and molds to inspect their home and explore their living space. Experts have found faulty roof repairs and inadequate construction to allow moisture, and a poorly installed heating, ventilation and air conditioning system has exacerbated the problem. It was an ideal environment for microbial growth.

“All the time the Baehr couple lived here, there was a small leak that caused water to drip into the wall of their … daughter Madeleine’s room that no one could see,” said Joshua Rachal, executive director of Texas Mold Exposure. , who collaborated with the Baehr Family.

Baehri lived, breathed and enjoyed mold, he said. It grew behind the walls and blew through the air ducts. Mold was even discovered on fruit in a bowl in the kitchen and in their drinking water.

“Looking back on all of our health symptoms, there was an elephant in the room that was the source that explains all these different manifestations of weird health things,” Evan Baehr said.

It was in 2007 U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information reports that 4.64 million cases of asthma in the U.S. are due to moisture and mold exposure. Other studies have found this chronic exposure to mold it can have a wide impact on several organ systems, including the respiratory and nervous systems, as well as on cardiovascular and reproductive health.

Researchers also find that there is strong evidence that early life exposure to humid environments, mold and mycotoxins in childhood and childhood can lead to developmental delays, reduced cognitive function and immune dysfunction. Children who live in damp houses in infancy or early childhood are twice as likely to develop adenoid hypertrophy, an enlargement of tissue that often leads to ear, nose and throat problems.

In fact, health battles can go on for a long time after someone leaves a moldy environment.

“Chronic exposure can cause long-term hypersensitivity, especially in sensitive individuals,” said Jamie Lichtenstein, a biologist and professor who studies mold at Emerson College.

Kristina Baehr said she still has a severe rash all over her body at even the slightest exposure, but her biggest concern is how mold exposure will affect the long-term health of her children.

Her son Scott, for example, continues to struggle with significant developmental delays. “It may never be the same. Because that’s how he grew up in the world. He was in my room, in that house. And I nurtured him in that house.”

Mold is not something that is usually covered by homeowners ’insurance, he says Insurance Information Institute, who believes the problem is “home maintenance problem.”

There are exceptions if the growth of mold is due to a covered hazard such as fire, hurricane or other similar event. Experts expected the number of mold cases to increase after a widespread flood due to Hurricane Ida and its remnants – or due to broken pipes due to a male winter storm in Texas last February.

“We could expect increased flooding due to climate change to lead to increased cases of water damage in homes and mold growth,” said Lichtenstein, a mold expert at Emerson College.

Through all the experience, Kristina Baehr has been given a new mission to help others who want to recover from mold exposure. She recently set up a new law practice, Just good lawto offer such representation that she said she could not find it for her family.

“A lot of families like us have experienced this problem across the United States and we want to help people recover from the people who made them sick,” she said.