Mold Removal and Home Renovation
Donation protected
What is kindness? True kindness lies within the act of giving without the expectation of something in return.
In reality, isn't that the essence of friendship? Our friends move away, their lives shift, we change, jobs get in the way of get-togethers, medical emergencies arise, time together is treasured, but in the end, friendship remains.
Jonathan and Chandra Fredrick are friends to many of us through childhood, college, hometowns, work, graduate school, kids and playdates, or through social media relationships. Regardless of how you know Jonathan, Chandra, Charlie, Calvin, and Quincy, what you need to know now is that they need our help.
Charlie is very sick. As of now, he isn't even living with his family until they can afford to do a very costly removal of mold from their home. This process is not only very emotionally draining, but it is financially devastating. These friends need our help and now is the time to step up. We are seeking to raise $25,000 (or more) to help offset the cost of the complete mold removal from their home. All funds go directly to the Fredrick family.
Here are the details of Charlie's story:
Charlie has been very ill for almost a year. He was diagnosed with PANS/PANDAS (autoimmune encephalitis) and chronic Lyme Disease last fall and has been receiving treatment for those terribly debilitating illnesses ever since. Charlie has a lot of neurological and psychological symptoms that can make living daily life feel impossible for him. Sometimes he has episodes where he seems more like a possessed person or a caged animal. It is a very scary and heartbreaking combination of diseases, especially for a child.
After several rough months and ongoing treatment with a Lyme-literate doctor, Charlie was making some improvements and was even back in school. And then COVID happened and while he was isolating at home with his family his health tanked. Charlie was tested for mycotoxins to see if there was evidence of mold illness present and he tested positive for that as well. He has the trifecta of illnesses (PANS/PANDAS, Lyme, and mold illness/CIRS) that are still very misunderstood, making proper treatment very difficult to find and receive. It also means insurance does not cover it, meaning these expensive treatments are paid for out of pocket.
If Lyme is a tinderbox, and PANS is a match, mold is the gasoline. To recover from Lyme and PANS, you have to find and get rid of the mold. Since a previous inspection failed to find any mold in their home, the Fredricks hired an indoor environmental expert who specializes in hypersensitive clients to give their home a thorough inspection and run tests. It cost them over $5000 but it did confirm their biggest fear — their home was riddled with hidden mold, mostly due to negligent work done and covered up during a renovation prior to their purchasing the home three years earlier. Following that company’s recommendations, they have gotten estimates from multiple remediation companies for the work needed. The cost of remediating the home will be massive. They have to throw out many of their belongings (all porous items such as upholstered furniture, rugs, mattresses, books, board games, stuffed animals, pillows, etc. cannot be cleaned well enough to make them healthy for Charlie to be around and could re-contaminate their home after remediation is complete). They have to pull up the carpet throughout the house (bedrooms, living space, and finished basement). The finished basement and one bathroom likely need to be gutted. The entire HVAC system and ductwork must be replaced due to contamination. There is so much.
Due to Charlie’s underlying illnesses and mold exposure he would likely react to many other homes. For that reason, plus being in the middle of a pandemic, the Fredricks feel it would be best for the family to try to remediate, do a major cleaning of the home and all belongings they are able to keep, and try to stay in their home — taking the position that “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t…” While the best case scenario would be building a home from scratch with very detailed instructions of precautions that must be taken during the building process to ensure it is a safe and healthy environment for Charlie and the rest of the family, that is just not financially feasible.
Charlie has been unable to even be in his home due to a severe decline in his health and has been living with his grandparents since the end of May. Jonathan and Chandra take turns driving to Pittsburgh, one staying with Charlie while the other stays with their younger sons Calvin and Quincy. Charlie has been showing some improvement since being out of their home but misses his room, his cats, and his family. A home remediation will enable him to heal at home and begin to live a normal life again.
So far none of Charlie’s extensive medical treatment has been covered by insurance. His antibiotic isn’t even covered — his doctor says he needs 60 tablets a month and insurance says he only needs 6 in 90 days. His medical treatment alone costs the family close to $1000 a month. Quincy has been showing softer PANS/PANDAS symptoms for about 6 months (also likely caused by the mold) so additional family members also have treatment expenses that are out of pocket.
Charlie’s current treatment, under the care of two doctors, includes 5 prescription medications, close to 20 supplements and herbs to help support and build up his extremely taxed system, and a homeopathic remedy. Due to this mold exposure he is now extremely sensitive to allergens, chemicals, artificial ingredients, and fragrances. He should be eating an all-organic diet that is allergen-free with limited sugar and no artificial colors or dyes. Any products in his environment should be free of any and all chemicals, toxins, and artificial fragrances/ingredients. You can imagine how challenging and expensive this all is.
Charlie is a sweet, creative, kind 9 year old who loves to write stories, draw, read books, make movies, and play with his brothers. He has not been able to enjoy his life or even participate in it for most of the last year. We just want to get him back. We want to give him hope and get him home.
If you want to read more about Charlie’s illness, the struggle to figure out what was happening with her son and within their family, and how they finally found some answers, you can read more on Chandra’s blog here.
To learn more about PANS, please watch this video that explains how PANS affects children. The same site also has a great deal of helpful information on understanding Lyme, especially in children. This infographic gives a quick but good understanding. If you are an educator or work in the healthcare system with children, please consider learning more about these illnesses. Our children need more support when suffering from these terrible diseases. Spreading awareness is so important. Thank you.
In reality, isn't that the essence of friendship? Our friends move away, their lives shift, we change, jobs get in the way of get-togethers, medical emergencies arise, time together is treasured, but in the end, friendship remains.
Jonathan and Chandra Fredrick are friends to many of us through childhood, college, hometowns, work, graduate school, kids and playdates, or through social media relationships. Regardless of how you know Jonathan, Chandra, Charlie, Calvin, and Quincy, what you need to know now is that they need our help.
Charlie is very sick. As of now, he isn't even living with his family until they can afford to do a very costly removal of mold from their home. This process is not only very emotionally draining, but it is financially devastating. These friends need our help and now is the time to step up. We are seeking to raise $25,000 (or more) to help offset the cost of the complete mold removal from their home. All funds go directly to the Fredrick family.
Here are the details of Charlie's story:
Charlie has been very ill for almost a year. He was diagnosed with PANS/PANDAS (autoimmune encephalitis) and chronic Lyme Disease last fall and has been receiving treatment for those terribly debilitating illnesses ever since. Charlie has a lot of neurological and psychological symptoms that can make living daily life feel impossible for him. Sometimes he has episodes where he seems more like a possessed person or a caged animal. It is a very scary and heartbreaking combination of diseases, especially for a child.
After several rough months and ongoing treatment with a Lyme-literate doctor, Charlie was making some improvements and was even back in school. And then COVID happened and while he was isolating at home with his family his health tanked. Charlie was tested for mycotoxins to see if there was evidence of mold illness present and he tested positive for that as well. He has the trifecta of illnesses (PANS/PANDAS, Lyme, and mold illness/CIRS) that are still very misunderstood, making proper treatment very difficult to find and receive. It also means insurance does not cover it, meaning these expensive treatments are paid for out of pocket.
If Lyme is a tinderbox, and PANS is a match, mold is the gasoline. To recover from Lyme and PANS, you have to find and get rid of the mold. Since a previous inspection failed to find any mold in their home, the Fredricks hired an indoor environmental expert who specializes in hypersensitive clients to give their home a thorough inspection and run tests. It cost them over $5000 but it did confirm their biggest fear — their home was riddled with hidden mold, mostly due to negligent work done and covered up during a renovation prior to their purchasing the home three years earlier. Following that company’s recommendations, they have gotten estimates from multiple remediation companies for the work needed. The cost of remediating the home will be massive. They have to throw out many of their belongings (all porous items such as upholstered furniture, rugs, mattresses, books, board games, stuffed animals, pillows, etc. cannot be cleaned well enough to make them healthy for Charlie to be around and could re-contaminate their home after remediation is complete). They have to pull up the carpet throughout the house (bedrooms, living space, and finished basement). The finished basement and one bathroom likely need to be gutted. The entire HVAC system and ductwork must be replaced due to contamination. There is so much.
Due to Charlie’s underlying illnesses and mold exposure he would likely react to many other homes. For that reason, plus being in the middle of a pandemic, the Fredricks feel it would be best for the family to try to remediate, do a major cleaning of the home and all belongings they are able to keep, and try to stay in their home — taking the position that “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t…” While the best case scenario would be building a home from scratch with very detailed instructions of precautions that must be taken during the building process to ensure it is a safe and healthy environment for Charlie and the rest of the family, that is just not financially feasible.
Charlie has been unable to even be in his home due to a severe decline in his health and has been living with his grandparents since the end of May. Jonathan and Chandra take turns driving to Pittsburgh, one staying with Charlie while the other stays with their younger sons Calvin and Quincy. Charlie has been showing some improvement since being out of their home but misses his room, his cats, and his family. A home remediation will enable him to heal at home and begin to live a normal life again.
So far none of Charlie’s extensive medical treatment has been covered by insurance. His antibiotic isn’t even covered — his doctor says he needs 60 tablets a month and insurance says he only needs 6 in 90 days. His medical treatment alone costs the family close to $1000 a month. Quincy has been showing softer PANS/PANDAS symptoms for about 6 months (also likely caused by the mold) so additional family members also have treatment expenses that are out of pocket.
Charlie’s current treatment, under the care of two doctors, includes 5 prescription medications, close to 20 supplements and herbs to help support and build up his extremely taxed system, and a homeopathic remedy. Due to this mold exposure he is now extremely sensitive to allergens, chemicals, artificial ingredients, and fragrances. He should be eating an all-organic diet that is allergen-free with limited sugar and no artificial colors or dyes. Any products in his environment should be free of any and all chemicals, toxins, and artificial fragrances/ingredients. You can imagine how challenging and expensive this all is.
Charlie is a sweet, creative, kind 9 year old who loves to write stories, draw, read books, make movies, and play with his brothers. He has not been able to enjoy his life or even participate in it for most of the last year. We just want to get him back. We want to give him hope and get him home.
If you want to read more about Charlie’s illness, the struggle to figure out what was happening with her son and within their family, and how they finally found some answers, you can read more on Chandra’s blog here.
To learn more about PANS, please watch this video that explains how PANS affects children. The same site also has a great deal of helpful information on understanding Lyme, especially in children. This infographic gives a quick but good understanding. If you are an educator or work in the healthcare system with children, please consider learning more about these illnesses. Our children need more support when suffering from these terrible diseases. Spreading awareness is so important. Thank you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Allison Horseman
Organizer
Somerset, KY
Chandra Fredrick
Beneficiary
