Killer House: Is the Air in Your House Killing You? by Shemane Nugent
Yes, it was and this book provided a roadmap for healing
I came across this book at time when my husband and I were in some heavy duty despair and I credit it with saving our lives.
Our “final house purchase” in Oklahoma had become a nightmare. All parties involved in the sale (sellers, realtor, inspector, and VA appraiser) lied about its condition.
A disabled veteran was not going to travel 20 hours to see the house before buying it, and our suspicion is they took advantage of that to off-load the house. All of the professionals we hired, who we are told to trust, told us the house was in good condition, but the crawlspace turned into a pond whenever it rained, the foundation was so bad the floors and doors were not level, and the entire underside of the house was covered in mold. Layers and layers of mold which likely seeped into every nook and cranny in that house. The hardwood floors buckled in spots with mold growing in the cracks and windows that had obviously leaked with mold peeking through the trim. The mold expert we hired to test said he’d never seen mold that bad in his 20 years in the field.
We’d been screwed and we were stuck.
Neck deep in a lawsuit that lasted almost three years, we had nowhere else to go, so we prayed the lawsuit would result in enough financial help that we could fix the situation. The cost of fixing it exceeded the value of the house, but we’d deal with that when the time came.
In the meantime, we could feel our health going downhill. Vague symptoms with no clear onset or cause. Fatigue of the sort that makes your body feel ten times heavier than it is, guts so messed up you feel bloated and gross all the time, frequent sinus infections and respiratory problems, worsening allergies and asthma, brain fog that makes you wonder if you’re coming down with dementia, and muscle aches not related to any kind of physical activity. My husband got migraines frequently. We felt like cans of smashed a-holes daily. We told our primary care provider and our allergy doctor that we had mold in the house, asked if could that be causing our problems. They prescribed more medication. Our concerns were brushed off and we suffered, praying for a positive resolution.
Then I came across “Killer House” and read quotes like this:
“…confusing symptoms including migraines, fatigue, insomnia, restless legs, brain fog, short-term memory loss, breathing difficulty, joint pain, digestive problems, and depression.”
I felt like I’d been hit with a brick.
Shemane Nugent had just described what my husband and I were experiencing.
“Once a person has been sensitized due to exposure to toxic mold, they can react to even natural occurrences like pollens.”
Another brick.
Both of us had long-standing issues with asthma and allergies that were worsening and the allergy docs just put us on more meds. They didn’t help and it kept getting worse.
In addition to telling her personal story, which caused multiple outbursts of “honey, you have to hear this!” Shemane Nugent’s “Killer House” explains mold and why it’s so dangerous. This inspired my own deep-dive into mold and all its related nastiness, which will be the subject of future posts.
Nugent also explains some of the dangerous misconceptions about mold, including why BLEACH DOESN’T KILL MOLD.
As our mold expert said, “Bleach just makes mold mad and it releases spores to spread faster.”
“Killer House” also shares information and resources about what to do next.
Nugent said their primary prescription was to get out of the house and leave everything. Then they went to see Dr. William Rea at the Environmental Health Center Dallas. Eventually, their health improved. There was hope.
We couldn’t leave yet. We had no means of doing so and the lawsuit was still going. Dallas was too far away, but we found an environmental medicine doctor a bit closer, Dr. Gregg Govett at Oklahoma Environmental Medicine & Otolaryngology.
A few juicy tidbits we learned from Dr. Govett:
Get out. Leave. Or you will die. Not if you will die, but when.
Detoxification is a long process and will do little to nothing if you do not get out of the mold. Leave the house, leave your things, get out.
Mold is dangerous because it’s not just mold. It off-gasses toxins, releases spores, releases poisonous mycotoxins (used to make neurotoxins), and is a respiratory irritant, so even if you’re not allergic to mold, it’s irritating your lungs and wreaking havoc.
The sole purpose of mold and mycotoxins is to decompose dead things. It composts, so think of what it’s doing to your insides. Yes, composting you from the inside out.
Mycotoxins are stored in fat cells and brain cells. They won’t come out unless you force them out. This means if you do nothing, those toxins will stay in you forever. In your brain. Forever.
Mycotoxins suppress the immune system. Guess what that does.
Dr. Govett tested us to measure the levels of mycotoxins in our bodies. In his laid-back manner, Dr. Govett told us, “You’re both batting 1000.” This means our bodies have exponentially high levels of ochratoxin A, aflatoxin group, trichothecene group, gliotoxin derivative, and zearalenone. Notice the “toxin” part of those words? In future posts, I’ll go into these a bit more.
Now we had an explanation for our symptoms and medical orders of what to do. We moved into a travel trailer on the property and lived in that for 10 months while the lawsuit dragged on. Once out of the mold, we noticed feeling better, but our symptoms were not gone.
Our lawsuit ended up in an agonizing jury trial. The jury found in our favor, but the bulk of the financial damages were assigned to the inspector who filed bankruptcy. In theory we won, but lost everything.
Eventually we moved to Texas. After a year away from the mold, my husband started to experience weird and disturbing symptoms again. It was time to address the poisons in our bodies because they don’t just come out by themselves. If we didn’t, we were courting death.
Since we were a bit closer to Dallas, we decided to see if Environmental Health Center Dallas was still around. The Nugents experienced great results there and based on their recommendation we figured that would be the place to go. I’ll write more about our experience there in another post, but I’ll just say this: The detox protocol is intense and it’s a marathon, but my husband and I both feel better than we have in years.
Shemane Nugent’s book, “Killer House,” accomplished several things. First, she shared a very personal story that too many people experience but don’t know what to do about. In the thick of our situation, we felt helpless, lonely, and defeated because no one would listen to us. She not only shares her story, but also other stories as well as places to connect with people who’ve experienced mold sickness such Change the Air Foundation and Malachi’s Message Foundation.
Second, she gives a brief overview of the dangers of mold and why people get screwed over legally, by insurance companies, and by people in the homebuilding professions including inspectors and realtors.
Laws are not written to favor the homeowner or renter.
Change the Air Foundation is working hard to change that.
Mold and its related components are so dangerous, I’m infuriated that a significant majority of medical providers are clueless. As adults, my husband and I suffered horribly! Imagine what it does to children! It’s even more horrendous. The tidbits of information Nugent shared in this book started my scavenger hunt of further research, which I’ll share in future posts.
Third, Shemane Nugent offers hope by giving advice on how to get your healing journey started. And yes, it’s a marathon-style journey that requires significant lifestyle changes. She didn’t just write a book and move on, she lives with the consequences of mold toxicity still, which means making health and lifestyle changes to stay healthy. Her website has links to her podcast and other books where she talks about mold toxicity, interviews experts including mold and health experts.
My husband and I are in the healing phase of this journey and when we tell people about this they ask how we got through it.
How we got through it? The answer is simple: God and family.
Faith and family helped us persevere. There were many, many times we cried to the Lord in despair, anger, and desperation. We’d be destitute and on the way to dead without our family. Because of their financial support, we got through the nightmare and started medical treatment. Not only were they there for us financially, but they prayed for us unrelentingly and encouraged us to stay focused on God.
Thank you, Mom and Dad, you saved our lives - literally.
During those years, God also connected us with people and resources that helped. I believe coming across this book was one of those connections. After reading “Killer House,” I understood what was happening to us and could see a path toward recovery.
If you or someone you know is suffering from unexplained health issues, check out this book and the links in this article. Thank you, Shemane Nugent, for writing this book and for continuing to talk about it in your blogs and on your podcast.
This series on mold, environmental illness, and detoxing for life will continue with additional book reviews and posts sharing what I learned during my deep-dive.
Subscribe to Scriptorium and share with friends.