Michael in Allentown

I am desperately seeking help. I will try to briefly describe my outrageous situation in hopes to gain your support and expertise. The walls that I need help with are made up from a lack of knowledge and training from Lila’s pediatrician, but more so a stubborn, ignorant, and even criminal disbelief that mold may become extremely harmful and cause illness, even after an exposure. I have tried so many ways to get my daughters’ mom to understand that Im not suffering from a psychosis. I showed my ex my blood work. She thought it was a fraud and an effort to scam me. I sent her Dr. Shoemakers’ research but she focused on the fact that he’s not able to practice due to miss coding Rx. She chooses to overlook the thousands of patients that actually feel better because of him. She thinks it is a scheme to rip people off and give them false hopes. I sent my ex articles from many other MD’s that now treat the illness, but again she finds no validity in the matter. I myself am struggling with the balance of avoidance and treatment, however, my daughters’ severe and chronic congestion is my immediate concern. Please allow me to provide a background.

In 2010, I was on top of the world. I had an amazing career which brought more success and money than I could have ever dreamed. I had a beautiful wife and a gorgeous little girl who was turning one. I was in love with my wife, family was good, and life was a dream.

That year we purchased our dream home. We also did more updates and remodeling in one year than most people do in a lifetime. Six months into our dream house, I was into one of many projects when I started to feel dizzy. I was producing this jelly like mucus from my sinuses and throat. I didn’t think anything of it until I started experiencing many other ailments and this severe mucus production got more intense like a rubber cement which gave me an irritating itch in the back of my sinuses. My health was beginning to scare me. My marriage, my family, and my career were now seriously impacted by my ongoing ailments. I tried to cope with vitamins and a prescription for adderal to keep me focused, since the family practitioners said I was fine and maybe just stressed out little.

It was a little over one year I had my first ER trip due to the amount of thick mucus blocking my airways. ER sent me home showing all vitals normal, however, I received results from cultures done weeks later that identified staph, candida disease, and an unidentifiable mold. I was given antibiotics, doses upon doses of prednisone, and told that candida is normal and is not treated. At this point with a continued decline in health, I started to seek answers on my own. I knew that I felt somewhat better after being out of the house for extended periods of time, so I figured it must be something with the house. This thought alone, combined with both my effort to get answers as well as my current mental and physical health, brought a tremendous strain on my family, mainly because my wife did not feel similar symptoms. At this point, my daughter was showing sings of severe congestion, eczema, belly and back aches, constipation, and sinus infections. I saw us both getting worse and not getting answers brought on an anxiety which made me appear mentally unstable.

I admittedly became obsessed with finding an answer. Spent enormous amounts of time researching possible causes. My first accusation was dry wall dust from the renovations. So I made massive dust collectors and installed house fans to try and sweep the air of particles. This made both my symptoms and the house unbearable for me. My next focus was on asbestos considering my asthma like symptoms and age of the house. During an inspection by an accredited environmental company, they indeed found asbestos in the attic which increased my amount of anxiety. “More importantly” the inspector said, he would be more concerned with the mold that was visible in the crawlspace and the attics. After a few air samples and tape swabs, it was confirmed that our house was severely contaminated with mold. Many species were discovered including stachy, but the most prevalent was asperiligus Niger (42000 / cubic cent). At this point in time I was in bad shape all around. My wife cried to me and apologized for not believing me when I told her something was wrong in the house. I thought now that she understands and I have answers, we could get past this and move on. I have always succeeded in the past, however, I was completely ignorant and uneducated on my genetic disposition. I proceeded to remediate the crawlspace and attics without containment, negative air flow, and using sub par respirators. As im sure you can imagine, my whole world collapsed around me.

I spent the next year in and out of hospitals, and saw numerous specialists. I had a so called mold remediation company redo the house, spent every last cent we had, lost my job, and cried in the arms of my spouse that the house was killing me. She cried back that it is not the house. I forced myself to learn everything there is to know about mold and it’s risks. Even after the numerous remediation efforts that came with a 5 year guarantee, a new mold test that I learned about called the ERMI, declared our house an 18. Again I attempted to explain this knowledge and findings to my spouse and she wouldn’t listen, finding fault in the ERMI itself. Because the numerous doctors could not find anything wrong but an ongoing staph infection, everyone in my life, whom once respected my intelligence and success, labeled me with a psychotic obsessive compulsive disorder brought on by post traumatic stress.

Easter day of last year, I was choking on this thick slimy film and now coughing up blood. My wife and I got into a heated argument because I didn’t want my daughter to see me in that condition, but she held Lila and followed me around trying to talk about the upcoming days’ events. That day, I gave up. I finally listened to my body, left the water damaged house, and drove to my parents. I wish I could say it didn’t get any worse for me, but I found myself in a hell I could not believe was even possible. My wife took Lila and stayed at her parents and for the next few weeks, I became so sick that I was having suicidal thoughts.

It turns out that my parents house has an ERMI of 13. I figured their house never bothered me before, but sure enough I got more sick and my family’s perception of my sanity was solidified from my reactions to another water damaged building. Many events took place which added to my hell. I was assaulted with a hand gun by my father in law in front of my wife and daughter. Because of the ignorant disbelief that mold actually made me sick, the same scumbag threatened to have me killed because I wasn’t handling my job and the stress. Because of his fear of me reporting it, my wife and her father filed a police report stating that I attacked them. Filed a fraudulent PFA and ordered a 302 (mandatory psychiatric evaluation) which was rather disturbing, however, worked to my advantage when the psychiatrist cleared me and actually acknowledged my issues.
All the while, Lila has a constant severe congestion with multiple sinus infections, with a multitude of other symptoms. My anxiety grew stronger than ever now that I had the knowledge of CIRS and mold itself. I believe that Lila’s sever congestion is due to a bio film that has coated her sinuses. When she does manage to gag a little mucus out, it is the same color, texture, and consistancy as the very mucus I have been battling. Her other symptoms have subsided a bit, which makes me believe she is not being overly exposed, but the issue is getting her mother to acknowledge the possibility and probability that Lila may need help with a bacterial film that will not go away on its own.

This fear that I hold for Lila has torn apart my family. I came really close to legally having court ordered supervision to see my daughter, but I remembered who I was and studied hard to defend myself. For Lila’s sake, we are civil and doing what we can to protect Lila. Jenna, my ex, still refuses to understand why I had to change cars, why I can’t go into a water damaged building, why I still struggle with this illness, and most importantly, she doesn’t understand that Lila could POSSIBLY still be suffering from her exposures to mold and bacteria. However, I finally have the opportunity to meet with her pediatrician together to discuss my concern for Lila’s sinus issues. When I start to speak of the very subject matter I have mastered, I guess I come across a little strange because Im not an MD. This is where I need help.
I need to have Lila tested for this bio film or staph infection which I believe she may have. If she doesn’t, im happy. But not knowing while holding the knowledge of what could happen if it is left untreated is where my hell needs to end.

I would like to speak to you about my options. Again, I may only get one shot at getting the reality out in the open and make sure Lila is ok. So im not sure how to handle this situation. Her insurance will cover a consultation, but if the consultation with Jenna and Lila’s pediatrician is vague and non productive, her stubborn ignorance will be maintained and Lila could go on suffering. Im sorry to share this very long story, but I felt it was important for you to understand my position. I might be inadvertantly looking for empathy or perhaps some justification. But more than anything, I won’t stop trying to help my little girl who is probably the only thing that kept me fighting through this hell. I am willing to do anything you ask and hope that you may provide some much needed assistance with my attempt to make sure Lila does not have my issue. Im so sorry again for rambling on and Thank you again for giving me hope.

Mike Lutterschmidt
[email protected]

Questions:

How can I get my daughters mom to stop ignoring my daughters symptoms. Her criminal father is too proud to admit he is wrong and Im afraid he brainwashed his daughter that mold can not make someone sick. She wont listen to me about how the doctors she is seeing are not trained with CIRS. The more I try to get my daughter help, the more she tries to make me look insane in court. So because Im trying to get my daughter help, I could end up losing my right of shared custody. I am in a living hell knowing my child is suffering and not be able to get her help. Please help me get through to her mother.