“Mold Life”

How long have I been living this “mold life”?

In some ways, most of my life.

I inherited HLA susceptibility from both sides of my family, although of course we didn’t know anything about CIRS when I was growing up. I had a miserable childhood health-wise—covered in psoriasis, recurrent herpes around my mouth, chronic muscle pain and fatigue, depression, constipation, and just never really feeling well.

In my 20s, I took my health into my own hands. I went raw vegan, attended massage school, had 25 colonics in 30 days, and immersed myself in natural health and healing. Over the next decade, most of those symptoms gradually resolved. I went on to have many years when I really felt pretty good.

No one was talking about CIRS or mold illness back then.

Then, around age 60, I went through a period of tremendous stress and my health crashed. That was when what I now call my “mold life” really began.

My first doctor was Shoemaker-certified, and from there I began an education I never expected to need. I’ve had to learn about mold, buildings, water, air quality, chemicals and other environmental exposures, food, detoxification, nervous-system regulation—and perhaps most importantly, how to listen to what my own body is telling me.

There have been moves, losses, setbacks and plenty of trial and error.

But my story isn’t just about being sick. It’s about getting my life and my health back.

I’m 70 now, and I’m doing well. I garden. I practice and teach Qigong. I eat good food. I continue studying and learning. And I take care of myself with an understanding I probably never would have developed without everything I’ve been through.

Now I’m taking my experience as an RN, Health Coach and educator—combined with the experience of someone who has actually lived this—and using it to help other people navigate environmental illness.

So, how long have I been living the “mold life”?

Intensely, about 10 years. But when I look back, I realize my journey started much earlier. It has really been a lifelong education in how profoundly our environment, lifestyle, nervous system and mind can influence our health.

And I’m still learning. ❤️