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TOXIC MOLD EXPOSURE STORIES-Iris Harden

A new section devoted to people telling their personal stories of their toxic mold exposures.

Please submit your story by email to dandavis@themoldmissionary.com with a specific request to add your story to this section.

Last Updated: 6-1-07

Visit Iris at her site www.survivingyellowrain.blogspot.com . Be sure to listen to her music. Purchase of her music will give her much needed support. By helping her we help ourselves. She selflessly helps others as she and Tlee struggle to regain their own health and lives. I value our new friendship.

Iris Harden:

Toxic Mold Video On WJBF TV (ABC) -True Story

We are bringing you a special report on toxic mold, and a
local woman who says she was poisoned by it. She's been
called a fake and a hypochondriac, but is there any truth to
her claim? Mary Morrison investigates in tonight's WJBF
News Channel 6 Medical Report.
Toxic mold.
Fact or fiction?
Many in the medical community say it does not exist.
But there are a growing number of doctors who disagree.
Tonight, you'll meet a woman caught smack in the middle of
this medical debate.
Iris Harden is finally home.
This barely furnished apartment:
An answered prayer.
"I'm just thankful to God and to the people who have helped
me"
Harden lives here with fiancee and fellow songwriter Tommy
Lee Brooks. For nearly a year, the couple was homeless.
"it's been a long road"
That long road Harden says begins in Harlem Georgia on
Fairview Drive.
She claims her health headed south after moving into a
rental house in 2003.
By 2005, Harden says she was in excruciating pain and had to
leave.
"I was having to sleep in motels, when I ran out of funds, I
was sleeping in a cold van, or sitting in the Huddle House
all night or sleeping in a hospital emergency room because I
had no place to go"
The couple moves and begins searching for answers.
In the yellow pages, Harden finds David Toole, a home
inspector.
Toole takes air samples at Harden's former home, then
reports his findings.
"She had a really high elevated case of mold in her house.
David Toole, Home Inspector:
"We found stachybotrus... clatasporum.. pennicillum.. and
aspergillus.
By moving, Iris Harden thinks she's escaped the source of
their trouble...but their troubles are just beginning.
She says their possessions cross contaminate their new
mobile home.
Most items are thrown out, some remain in storage.
And once again, the couple is homeless.
They turn to a Thomson Georgia church for help.
Agape Outreach Ministries gives them food, clothes and a
place to stay.
The pastor even goes with Iris Harden to the hospital.
Pastor Margaret Sharp, Agape Ministries:
"Her eyes were swollen, her face looked like it was cooked
and she looked horrible and there really wasn't any help for
her at that time".
After repeated trips to local doctors and hospitals, Iris
turns to the internet. She finds others who suffer from the
same symptoms..and finally convinces a local doctor to help
her get a sophisticated test called PCR. Samples of her
blood and lung secretions are sent to Immunosciences Lab in
California. I talked by phone to Doctor Ari Vojdani .
Dr. Ari Vojdani, Immunosciences Lab:
"We detected DNA of two different molds, aspergillus and
stachybotrys, in her lung, as well as her blood." He says
the results make Iris unique and immediate treatment
critical. "I believe that if she wasn't going to be treated
for the two molds by I-V anti fugal material, she was going
to die." A skin biopsy analyzed by Environmental
Diagonostic Group in Madison Wisconsin confirms the worst.
In this report, Dr. William Croft, a medical pathologist,
calls Iris Harden a "Public Health Emergency. He says her
body was poisoned by Trichothecene Mycotoxins, produced by
the mold in her home. Desperate for help, the couple begins
making weekly trips to a medical clinic in Ashville North
Carolina. They finally find a doctor who believes them and
Iris begins treatment, much of which is done for free. So
why did Iris Harden and Tommy Lee Brooks have to journey so
far from home to find medical help? We wanted to ask that
question to doctors at the Medical College Georgia but were
told by an MCG spokeswoman, that the Physicians declined our
invitation to be interviewed. She says their view is that
there is no such thing as toxic mold, people are allergic to
mold and that varies by the person.
MCG is not alone in its position.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes the
same stance.
OSHA, another government agency, says more research is
needed.
You can bet the insurance industry will be watching any new
studies carefully.
It has much to lose if toxic mold is ever accepted as fact
by mainstream medicine.

Links:

Immunosciences Lab, California:
http://www.immuno-sci-lab.com/index2.html

American Academy of Environmental Science:
http://www.aaem.com/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
http://www.cdc.gov/

Yahoo Health Group:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/sickbuildings

Toxic Mold Part 1 Video WJBF TV (ABC) Reported by Marry Morrison. Produced by Mark Rosen

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Video Description

Songwriters silently poisoned by toxic mold. National health crisis discussed on WJBF TV. Forced to abandon home, possessions and fight for survival. Many suffer from this life-threatening illness. Please help us make the public aware of how dangerous toxic mold can be.

Multiple organ damage, immune dysfuntion, scarred lungs, blistering, burns, neurological injury, increased sensitivity to many chemicals, dry eyes, severe body pain, involuntary spasms, loss of focus, etc...

The emotional aspect alone of losing not only clothes, funiture..but things like cherished photos, musical awards, 100's of orginal song lyrics, my angels and lighthouses..it's hard starting our lives over on top of being sick. And tragedies like ours happen everyday; It's NOT JUST US..Many people find themselves in impossible situations because of mold. A lot of them give up, as there's nowhere to turn.

These toxins can be invisible to the naked eye, yet DEADLY! Toxic mold is in our schools, homes and workplace. If you notice symptoms that are unexplainable, think about your environment. We had no idea we were being poisoned by an agent called trichothecene, produced from toxic mold-fungi hidden in the insulation. We unknowingly inhaled, absorbed and ingested these toxic vapors. It can happen to anyone and don't let anybody tell you different. Mold CAN make you sick..VERY sick.

Trichothecene is a known agent of biowarfare, banned as a weapon of mass destruction, and along with other mycotoxins steals all quality of life in countless victims, many of which are children.

We thank news anchor, Mary Morrision, for investigating our story. She had the courage after seeing documentation and speaking to many doctors, to share our tragedy, in an effort to educate the public. We need more media to interview mold victims. WJBF will be airing another story soon of other local victims of this misunderstood and devastating ill ness. I'm so glad I was able to help them. That's what it's all about..helping each other.. This IS a widespread health problem and we need to join forces for the good of all.

Though both Tlee and I are sick, we still want to devote our lives to getting the truth about mold-induced illness to as many people as we can. We had no idea so many people were sick from mold.

It's almost impossible to get medical care in most places. We'd hoped the Medical College of Ga. would help us warn people of the dangers of toxic mold. After all, they receive large grants to study such agents of biowarfare, trichothecene being one of them. How can they state there is no such thing? Our goal is not to go after the medical profession in a bad way, but to let them know there are 1000's if not millions of people who need medical care for this sickness. It is very real! Help us!

It should not matter if a terrorist poisoned us or our home was toxic..it is the sam e toxin with the same health effects. We need support from mainstream medicine so that lives can be saved.

Insurance companies (Grange Mutual in our case)..need to accept liabilty and treat those known to be injured, with human decency and concern. We provided pathology, genetic testing, blood antibodies..and 3 environmental reports showing excessive amounts of many dangerous molds indoors. In addition,we even confirmed very TOXIC amounts of a known poison.. Even now, the home is a death trap..

For ANY insurance company to allow someone to go without life-saving medical treatments, lose their possessions, and end up homeless for 10 months as a result of injuries sustained in a home they insured...Human suffering should take priority over greed. Do what is right!

We are devoted to reaching out to help save lives. All mold victims need your prayers and support. Tlee and I are here to talk to you and help you any way we possibly can. You're not alone in your illness. We are able to function some days and some days we're not. Bear with us.
To anyone who sees this..please pass it on to any ABC affilate stations or any other media outlets, medical or friends.

It's much bigger than just us. I can direct you to people all over the country who are sick and in hopeless situations. Please contact us:

My website has info on mold, mycotoxins,and photos of actual injuries.

http://www.myspace.com/faceoftoxicmold

Or you can write to us:

Iris Harden (Brooks) & Thomas Brooks
P.O. Box 25, Harlem, Ga. 30814

Standing up for what we believe, even if we must stand alone..

Iris & Tlee

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Toxic Mold Part 2 Video - WJBF TV (ABC) Reported by Mary Morrison. Produced by Mark Rosen

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