The balloons above are as bleak as I could find but appropriate for the subject matter. I know that in my writings all these past months that I have documented accounts of ailments that I and my daughter, my son in law and grandchildren have had. We were together in their home when Katrina made landfall. We, excluding the children, waded through the floodwater that came into the house. Windows were opened to let a relunctant breeze into the house as there was no a/c. Flies swarmed inside as did mosquitoes but the flies were the biggest hazard. They bit all of us repeatedly and we were very worried as we knew they had been feeding off garbage and only God knows what else. Dave cut the carpets into smaller pieces and he and Anita drug the heavy, waterlogged rugs outside. I helped somewhat in that but mostly I was mopping and sweeping water seepage that continuously oozed from the slab. It was on the third day that I found that my house had survived Katrina. For 12 days, Dave, Anita and children stayed with me and then returned to their home. Dave began tearing sheetrock from the walls. Ruined furniture and everything that was touched by the water was taken to the curb. Later two guys from Michigan were hired to dry the stud walls and spray to prevent mold from growing (which by the way, didn't keep the mold from growing back). There was not just black mold, some of it was red. Weeks and weeks would pass and the work of tearing out and throwing out continued.

By Thanksgiving 2005 we (adults) were sick. We had a dry cough and the skin on our fingers was peeling. Not a soft skin but rough. I have always been high energy but as Christmas 2005 neared I made an appointment to see the doctor before the holidays. He had been treating me for high blood pressure. I told him I was very tired and that my hair had turned brittle and was falling out from the roots and asked could it be a side effect from the medication. He became angry and put me out of the entire clinic. I found another doctor a month later to treat me. I told him my complaints especially about my hair (aren't we women vain). He dismissed it as stress and asked had I seen a dermatologist. Months would pass and each time I kept an appointment with the doctor I had the same complaints and would add yet another one. A rapid weight gain and a large patch of rough skin on my left leg that appeared bruised too. He said that I should get some of the weight off as it wasn't good for someone with high blood pressure and that we would watch the dry patch on my leg. Eventually, he did change my medications on June 6th and for almost three weeks I felt better than I had but ...

Hazards of Medications

After the above episode, I was taken off blood pressure medication and treated with a diuretic ...1/4 of a tiny tablet ... as large as a bread crumb. My condition remained the same. Another blood test was ordered last week .. yesterday I received a call to tell me that my thyroid was out of whack. I have hypothyroidism. A battery of tests will ensue. My metabolism is zilch! Great!

If you are reading this and following closely the things I have blogged, you will know that our floodwater was contaminated with every kind of pesticide known to man. Arsenic was one of the culprits. It is a fact that arsenic accumulates in the thyroid and a known fact that mercury and lead cause hypothyroidism. It is no coincidence that my daughter, Anita, had a miscarriage on August 30, 2006 and I was diagnosed with thyroid problems om September 20, 2006. It is my belief that my daughter lost her baby due to contaminants (arsenic). She also is losing her hair. We are both fortunate that we started with very thick hair or we would be bald by now. A rough patch of skin is called a keratoses and indicates arsenic exposure. Arsenic can cause nerve damage, my pinkie and ring finger on my left hand are still numb. They will remain that way as nerve damage is irreversible. As for me, I am holding on to hope that since I still feel pretty good (except for tiredness) that my problem isn't cancerous. I still have many things to do!

Did Katrina Taint Our Soil?