Andrew's family visits

Dad and Mom Boersma, brother-Joel and Daraby

Dad Boersma with Abby and Pepper

Mom Boersma with Daraby- 7.5 months old

Rachael, Daraby and Mom Boersma

The new landscape around the place we live know. We are living 30 miles south of our former home. Around here there rocky bluffs and the creek. It is very different from living in the sandhills. A different kind of beauty. All that to say, we really miss our home and neighbors up north. Slowly, it is sinking in that we can never move back to our old home. For now we are living one day at a time.

Boersma/Short Visit

Andrew, Darcy, Abby and Pepper (she's the neighbors dog)


Andrew's father overlooking the creek valley


The creek valley. We hiked up a bluff to get this view.

Most of the family took some time to shoot clay pigeons.

Daron, Rachael, Andrew and Daraby- We all hiked to rattle snake springs but thankfully we didn't see any snakes.

Under fire

Do you ever feel like everything is going wrong but yet you know it isn’t that bad? Lately that is how I’ve been feeling. We are still living on the south end of the ranch in the guest house. It seems that satan is pressing us on all sides. There are several frusterating circumstances that have arisen but I won't comment on them here. Please pray for peace for us.

We just got internet today! Through the week I’ve been traveling a ton to take the computers to get fixed and to get groceries. All together I’ve probably logged over 500 miles so far in 3 days. No, that isn’t a record but more of a norm. I’m still debating on driving 220 miles tomorrow to get Daraby’s formula. I will have to get it soon because she will run out in 4 or 5 days. Traveling like we do comes with living in a remote area and having a baby that has special formulas and medicines. Yep- that is right she can’t get her medicine in town either. Most times I try to combine all the things I need to do and get it all done in one day. I call it my “marathon day.” Usually we leave the house around 8 AM and get home around 8 PM. By now Daraby is used to traveling and sleeping in the car seat. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t get crabby after four hours of being in it but she does manage to get over it.

Through the week I’ve been trying to clean more items, organize our living space and take care of Daraby. She has started to eat 6 or more jars of baby food per day. That means I feed her 3 jars in the morning, 3 at noon and then 3 or more at night. I didn’t realize it took so much time to feed someone else. The bottle is much easier and cleaner but she loves the food from the jar. I can’t seem to feed her fast enough. Her little mouth hangs open like a bird and swings toward the spoon. She will really let me have it if she thinks I’m going to slow. It is a great time to bond and laugh. Aprons come in real handy since Dara sneezes every meal. That is why many of my shirts have tiny orange stains. It is a new fashion! So far she eats primarily orange and yellow foods. It is no wonder she doesn’t turn orange!

Besides traveling and feeding Daraby- I’ve been on the phone with more doctor’s offices, clinics, specialists etc… It has been a huge headache since there is a wide range of opinions and advice but no one will take Dara as a patient. All the Drs say she needs to be at least 2 years old before they will see her. Her age makes her a huge liability and treatments haven’t been tested on infants. For a while I was going to get her tested for toxins but after talking to several nurses, assistants and a chemist I realize it isn’t necessary to spend the money to prove that she was exposed to toxins. I already know that she was and that she inhaled them etc… I need to know what to do about her exposure.

Earlier this week I did get some much needed answers. To make a long story short a liaison to several different doctor offices in Denver told a retired chemist/pharmacist about our situation. That chemist/pharmacist called me back and talked to me about Daraby for over thirty minutes. No he had nothing to gain but he felt sorry for us and he has a ton of knowledge about the subject. Over 40 years ago when he was a pharmacist in TX their home was flooded and even though they cleaned up the water- mold still grew and he got very sick. In fact, they couldn’t have kids because of being exposed to toxic mold. That was over 30 years ago. When he realized it was mold that made him ill, he went back to school to get his doctorate in chemistry – he studied mold and the effects it has on people. He explained so many things about mold and how to take care of Daraby. He said it is extremely important to give her three things: clean air-HEPA filters, clean water and no chemical/fragrance exposure.

He said the first thing to do is move out (which we’ve already done) and make sure we never move back into a home with mold. Re-exposure to any molds will make her sicker than she has ever been. Every home we live in will need to be tested. Additionally the air in our home needs to be cleaned with a HEPA system so mold spores or dirt spores don’t linger in the air for her to breath. As a result of her exposure her immune system is weak and so the least amount of stress in best. Next he said she needs to have clean water that has no chlorination. He hates chlorine, bleach, Lysol and Windex. He says they are very powerful agents that will harm her delicate system. Lastly, he said to make sure she isn’t exposed to any chemicals or fragrances. That means don’t bleach her clothes, no scented lotion, no air fresheners, no scented laundry soaps, and no pesticides etc... He said by following these measures it will help boost her immune system to start repairing her body. He like many others said he didn’t know any Drs that would treat Daraby until she is two years old. He hopes that someday soon a pediatrician will be willing to learn about mold and start treating patients.

In the end he said the mold could have done irreparable damage but he is hopeful that her body will heal itself despite not getting treatments. Daraby has severe GERD/acid reflux and has a hard time digesting food. She isn’t allergic to foods but has a hard time breaking down food in her digestive tract. That is why she is on expensive formula. I am praying that her body will heal itself and she will out grow these issues in the next year.

Today she has been really crabby and broke out in a rash. I’m going nuts trying to find what has made her sick again. I suppose some item from the moldy house brought in mycotoxins or I had some fragrance or something. Tomorrow is a new day. Perhaps she will feel better.

Tomorrow Andrew’s parents and his brother Joel are coming to visit from MI for a week or so. We are excited! I’m trying to clean house and prep meals as much as I can. It will be wonderful for them to see Daraby! For once they will see her wonderful, loving side. YAY!

Update

Life changes so fast. Just over a week ago we found out we have toxic molds in our home and moved to the south end of the ranch. Currently we are living in the guest house. It is a nice home but it isn’t our home- living out of suitcases. Each day I’ve been working on recovering our stuff. I wash the clothing twice in borax, vinegar or bleach. Yesterday I washed, washed and washed Dara’s stuffed animals. The smell didn’t want to come out of them. I’ve also been soaking her plastic toys in the sink.
I’ve been crazy busy and overwhelmed. It is a good thing that Daraby’s health is completely different. She is a Happy Baby! Her rashes are going away, she doesn’t cry very much at all, she is sleeping through the night, she spits up less, she isn’t sweating like before, no more blood coming out her nose, she can breath better, her nose isn’t plugged, she can sit up, she can roll over, and she talks more. In general she is doing really well! I can’t believe the difference. I got a whole new kid.
When we went to the doctor two weeks ago she said Daraby was at a 4 month old development when she should be at 6 months. That was hard to hear. At that point Dara wasn’t interested in sitting up, rolling over and pushing herself up on her arms. In fact Daraby was so unhappy that a week earlier she screamed for 4 hours straight. That day I took her to the local clinic to see what was wrong. The nurse practitioner said I needed to get tougher with her because she is just a cranky baby. Something in me said that this behavior wasn’t right even if she was a cranky babe.
I kept wondering why Daraby was so good when we were away from home. Whenever we went into town or to a friends’ home she was relatively happy. Then when we would come home and with in an hour she was unhappy and crying. That is why we got the house tested. At the time I thought it was just a precautionary measure and the mold wouldn’t be toxic. You may call it intuition or my last resort. I just knew that her behavior wasn’t normal and she didn’t feel well.
Even Abby had been feeling poorly. She had a rash and was super itchy. Then she started to cough which sent warning bells off in my mind. Most dogs start to cough when they have heartworms. Amber, our other dog that died last May, had heartworms so we were very cautious with Abby. I knew Abby got her medications every month so heartworms weren’t an issue. Besides that Abby started to spend most of her time outside. She definitely didn’t want to spend any time in the basement even if I was down there working. If you know Abby she wants to be as close to you as she can get. She follows me everywhere. If I’m in the kitchen, living room or bedroom she is within feet of me or the baby.
Please pray that we will find a mold physician soon. Most Drs don’t want to take her case because she is so young-plus there aren’t many mold cases/drs out here. We will need to travel 5 or more hours to even find one. It has been very frustrating. For work purposes I have to prove that Daraby was/is sick because of the mold in our home.
All in all it has been a draining week but we did manage to celebrate Valentines Day. Andrew got me a beautiful pinkish/yellow rose. That night we dropped Dara off at a friend’s home and we drove 70 miles to watch the movie Australia. Then we drove 70 miles back, picked Dara up and came home. I really enjoyed the movie. It was a tad long for Andrew. Someday I want to go to Australia so seeing the scenery was great.
Yesterday was Andrew’s half birthday so I went to the store to buy all the missing ingredients to make cookies. We threw away all the baking ingredients and many other kitchen supplies because of the toxins in the air. Andrew said the cookies are the best I’ve ever made. I think he said that because he hasn’t had homemade cookies for a week. Earlier this week he was so desperate that he bought cookies from the store. People always say women are addicted to chocolate but in our relationship it is Andrew not I that is addicted to chocolate. Everyday he has to have a bite of chocolate. It is funny because I’ve been saving my chocolate D from Christmas in the freezer. It just drives Andrew crazy that I haven’t eaten it yet. It bugged him so much that he made me a deal. He gets to eat it but I get 5 backrubs in payment. Sweet!

Horrible News

As I sit here I am bombarded with conflicting and raging emotions. Yesterday we found out our home is saturated with mycotoxins which some people refer to as "toxic mold." In fact we have 13 strains of mold in our home. These mold spores are air born and do a lot of damage to neurological systems and respiratory systems. This is the reason Daraby has been sick.
Last night we moved out of our home. I'm in a state of shock. I'm angry. I can't believe I didn't see the writing on the wall. My child is sick because of her environment. Now I'm on the mission to get her detoxified. We've lived in our home for a year and a half. For the first part I was pregnant and then Daraby was born. I can't imagine the scope of her illnesses. I don't know to what degree she is ill nor the lasting effects.
Today I'm trying to decide the next steps. I don't know what things I can move out of the home and save. All of our things have the spores. I need to clean everything and minimize Dara's exposure any further. I don't know if I need to rush to a mold Dr in Denver or get our stuff moved to somewhere new and then deal with the Dr issue. I'll do anything for my child. I can live without my stuff even if I think I can't.
If you want to learn more about mold please visit these sites:

www.mold-help.org
http://moldrecovery.blogspot.com/
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery-health/14560-human-atlas-mold-video.htm
http://chronicneurotoxins.com/

The video is really good and easy to understand so if you have a good connection that might be a good place to start. The mold recovery blogspot is about a family of 11 that is dealing with mold issues. It is their story. The husband in the story has a Christian radio program that I listen to that is why I know about their story. The mold-help.org website is very knowledgeable. I don't post this to make you feel sorry for us but so that you may pray and ask direction for us. We will move to the south end of the ranch and see what to do about our stuff, the house and Daraby's health. I'm overwhelmed and so sad. As a mom I feel so guilty about exposing her to such harmful toxins that have worked against her immune system.