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so we're meeting with the lawyer tomorrow later today about what our options are regarding this shitty living situation. we meet with the landlord friday. let me catch you up to speed to see what ch'all think.
so they started re-doing our roof on our apartment building in september of '07. the roofers were seriously here maybe 2-3 times a week. the smallest rain drop, the slightest wind gust, they'd be outta here. when we re-signed our lease in mid-october the landlord said they should be done by november.
they weren't.
they left the job totally unfinished/unprotected. around the time i got out of the hospital we noticed that we were starting to get brown spots along some of the seams in our ceiling's drywall. we called the landlord and he said "if it's not dripping it's not a problem." no seriously. our neighbors across the hall turned on their dining room light one day and sparks shot out. their FIXTURE was leaking. the neighbors directly across the hall's ceiling flat out froze over, as in - a thick coat of ice across their ceiling.
months went on and i started getting sick more often than normal for me. i attributed it to the faulty flu shot, sharing a campus with over 35,000 people, compromised immune system due to recovering from surgery, the list goes on. while this is happening we begin to see the seams beginning to pull apart in our ceiling and giant water spots forming. our kitchen light fixture begins leaking so bad we have to put a bucket under it and can't use it for days on end.
my symptoms included aches and pains, cold sweats, coughing, shortness of breath, massive scale fatigue just to name a few. the breathing problems progressed, and i soon had burning in my chest, aches in my chest, swollen lymph nodes, congestion, and a braking cough. other fun things that popped up - conjunctivitis, skin problems (my face began getting rashes and just a bumpy texture. those of you that have met me in person know that my skin is usually flawless), random joint swelling.
time rolls on and i begin seeing the doctor trying to fix whatever is wrong to no avail. in this time we notice that there is black and white fur growing on our ceiling. we call the landlord and he says he doesn't want to do anything until the roofers finish the job. meanwhile he's moved out both neighbors across the hall into "safer" apartments. yeah, "SAFER" apartments.
well low and behold the roofers return in early april. our seams in our ceiling are splitting by now, our watermarks are giant and fuzzy and i'm sicker than ever. a nagging cough that won't go away, burning sensation in my chest, aching in my chest, lymph nodes on the right still swollen, still short of breath. the roofers at this time begin picking up cables from the roof and cutting them, then tossing them to the ground, knocking out all TV, internet and anyone who has digital phone. keep in mind that their dumpster has been in the parking lot for 8 months, most of the parking lot was taped off until the tenants got tired of walking 200 yards with no outdoor lighting (they cut that in september) at night in the not-so-awesome part of this town and ripped the tape down.
so i'm sicker than hell and joey and i had finally had enough. we went to builder's square and bought some non-chlorine, non-ammonia mold killer and i sprayed our shit down myself while joey scrubbed the carpets and upholstery with a badass rug scrubber we rented. still not much improvement, though i could finally sleep in our bed without drowning in my own mucus. after we did all of this we called the landlord - again - and asked when they were going to fix it. "when the roofers are done" he says. meanwhile maintenance is going around with aerosol cans full of "mold killer/sealant" (which i think is just spray paint from the smell of it) and paints over mold spots in the hallways. my condition continues to worsen.
well, the roofers finally finish and maintenance puts in a cameo in our apartment. i'm asleep but joey's awake. they barely say a word (according to joey) and commence spraying our ceiling - with us, the cats, the ferrets and all out shit inside. they tell joey to turn on some fans and crack the windows. i awake with my lungs totally constricted and promptly begin choking. maintenance is long gone at this point and joey rushes into the bedroom with my inhaler that the doc gave me cuz she has no idea what else to do at this point. i get pissed and storm out when i can finally wheeze a little.
i come home about an hour later and there is a thin white dust all over everything we own - my $2500 TV, my $2600 computer, my cell, my ds and all of the other game systems (360, regular xbox, ps2, game cube, both the super and regular nintendos, etc), our just washed dishes in the drying rack, my $1000 couch, the cats food and water, the ferret cage, the shitty couch, candy dish, dining room table, all furniture, etc. i am LIVID. i call the landlord to complain, tell him how sick i've been, tell him how fed up we're becoming and the asshole has the nerve to tell me my illnesses have NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOLD. this is after telling joey that they definitely ARE. he says he'll send maintenance up to wipe up. yes, wipe up.
joey calls the next day about the mess that was haphazardly wiped up and my being very ill. he once again admits my illness is probably mold-related, apologizes, says that maintenance will be back to finish fixing the ceiling. at this time they begin renovating the apartments across the hall and i get the sickest i've been yet. we rent a rug scrubber to clean my very expensive couch and joey continues to clean while i'm at work.
soooo, yesterday these geniuses come in and use a water-based roller paint and paint over the entire ceiling (except the bedroom). they spatter paint on everything again, drip it all over the floor. joey comes home (i'm at work) and hits the roof. they come up with wet rags to wipe up after themselves again, actually attempt to wipe our game systems and electronics down with these dripping wet cloths (joey stopped them). they were all set to just start slapping paint on when one of them thinks "hey, maybe we should move this giant book!" later joey warns them they had better not have damaged my baby that sits atop a shelf/hunter s. thompson shrine on the wall, still unopened, or else i will gut them and roll around in their intestines. lucky for them they moved it.
so, i'm still sick. i saw the doc and she's referring me to a pulminologist because she doesn't know what else she can do. as it stand right now, my doctors bills are already at $420 from this alone, and my meds are upwards of $200.
i kept all receipts of medical expenditures, all receipts for meds (both over and under the counter), the rug scrubber rentals, pictures of the mold in our apartment and the building taken at 3 separate times (before it got bad, when it started getting bad, and when it was at it's worst before the coverups), my medical records which state from the very beginning that mold is being considered a factor and my letter to the college of arts and sciences pleading my case for a full withdrawal from school this semester due to being too ill to attend. the doc (she's actually a nurse practitioner - i just say doc cuz she might as well be), the other nurse practitioner i saw when i had to make an emergency appointment and the overseeing doctor who i've also seen about this all offered to write letters backing me to the lawyer, the landlord and the college of arts and sciences.
so i've covered my bases for the most part. any ideas/suggestions/criticisms?
so they started re-doing our roof on our apartment building in september of '07. the roofers were seriously here maybe 2-3 times a week. the smallest rain drop, the slightest wind gust, they'd be outta here. when we re-signed our lease in mid-october the landlord said they should be done by november.
they weren't.
they left the job totally unfinished/unprotected. around the time i got out of the hospital we noticed that we were starting to get brown spots along some of the seams in our ceiling's drywall. we called the landlord and he said "if it's not dripping it's not a problem." no seriously. our neighbors across the hall turned on their dining room light one day and sparks shot out. their FIXTURE was leaking. the neighbors directly across the hall's ceiling flat out froze over, as in - a thick coat of ice across their ceiling.
months went on and i started getting sick more often than normal for me. i attributed it to the faulty flu shot, sharing a campus with over 35,000 people, compromised immune system due to recovering from surgery, the list goes on. while this is happening we begin to see the seams beginning to pull apart in our ceiling and giant water spots forming. our kitchen light fixture begins leaking so bad we have to put a bucket under it and can't use it for days on end.
my symptoms included aches and pains, cold sweats, coughing, shortness of breath, massive scale fatigue just to name a few. the breathing problems progressed, and i soon had burning in my chest, aches in my chest, swollen lymph nodes, congestion, and a braking cough. other fun things that popped up - conjunctivitis, skin problems (my face began getting rashes and just a bumpy texture. those of you that have met me in person know that my skin is usually flawless), random joint swelling.
time rolls on and i begin seeing the doctor trying to fix whatever is wrong to no avail. in this time we notice that there is black and white fur growing on our ceiling. we call the landlord and he says he doesn't want to do anything until the roofers finish the job. meanwhile he's moved out both neighbors across the hall into "safer" apartments. yeah, "SAFER" apartments.
well low and behold the roofers return in early april. our seams in our ceiling are splitting by now, our watermarks are giant and fuzzy and i'm sicker than ever. a nagging cough that won't go away, burning sensation in my chest, aching in my chest, lymph nodes on the right still swollen, still short of breath. the roofers at this time begin picking up cables from the roof and cutting them, then tossing them to the ground, knocking out all TV, internet and anyone who has digital phone. keep in mind that their dumpster has been in the parking lot for 8 months, most of the parking lot was taped off until the tenants got tired of walking 200 yards with no outdoor lighting (they cut that in september) at night in the not-so-awesome part of this town and ripped the tape down.
so i'm sicker than hell and joey and i had finally had enough. we went to builder's square and bought some non-chlorine, non-ammonia mold killer and i sprayed our shit down myself while joey scrubbed the carpets and upholstery with a badass rug scrubber we rented. still not much improvement, though i could finally sleep in our bed without drowning in my own mucus. after we did all of this we called the landlord - again - and asked when they were going to fix it. "when the roofers are done" he says. meanwhile maintenance is going around with aerosol cans full of "mold killer/sealant" (which i think is just spray paint from the smell of it) and paints over mold spots in the hallways. my condition continues to worsen.
well, the roofers finally finish and maintenance puts in a cameo in our apartment. i'm asleep but joey's awake. they barely say a word (according to joey) and commence spraying our ceiling - with us, the cats, the ferrets and all out shit inside. they tell joey to turn on some fans and crack the windows. i awake with my lungs totally constricted and promptly begin choking. maintenance is long gone at this point and joey rushes into the bedroom with my inhaler that the doc gave me cuz she has no idea what else to do at this point. i get pissed and storm out when i can finally wheeze a little.
i come home about an hour later and there is a thin white dust all over everything we own - my $2500 TV, my $2600 computer, my cell, my ds and all of the other game systems (360, regular xbox, ps2, game cube, both the super and regular nintendos, etc), our just washed dishes in the drying rack, my $1000 couch, the cats food and water, the ferret cage, the shitty couch, candy dish, dining room table, all furniture, etc. i am LIVID. i call the landlord to complain, tell him how sick i've been, tell him how fed up we're becoming and the asshole has the nerve to tell me my illnesses have NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOLD. this is after telling joey that they definitely ARE. he says he'll send maintenance up to wipe up. yes, wipe up.
joey calls the next day about the mess that was haphazardly wiped up and my being very ill. he once again admits my illness is probably mold-related, apologizes, says that maintenance will be back to finish fixing the ceiling. at this time they begin renovating the apartments across the hall and i get the sickest i've been yet. we rent a rug scrubber to clean my very expensive couch and joey continues to clean while i'm at work.
soooo, yesterday these geniuses come in and use a water-based roller paint and paint over the entire ceiling (except the bedroom). they spatter paint on everything again, drip it all over the floor. joey comes home (i'm at work) and hits the roof. they come up with wet rags to wipe up after themselves again, actually attempt to wipe our game systems and electronics down with these dripping wet cloths (joey stopped them). they were all set to just start slapping paint on when one of them thinks "hey, maybe we should move this giant book!" later joey warns them they had better not have damaged my baby that sits atop a shelf/hunter s. thompson shrine on the wall, still unopened, or else i will gut them and roll around in their intestines. lucky for them they moved it.
so, i'm still sick. i saw the doc and she's referring me to a pulminologist because she doesn't know what else she can do. as it stand right now, my doctors bills are already at $420 from this alone, and my meds are upwards of $200.
i kept all receipts of medical expenditures, all receipts for meds (both over and under the counter), the rug scrubber rentals, pictures of the mold in our apartment and the building taken at 3 separate times (before it got bad, when it started getting bad, and when it was at it's worst before the coverups), my medical records which state from the very beginning that mold is being considered a factor and my letter to the college of arts and sciences pleading my case for a full withdrawal from school this semester due to being too ill to attend. the doc (she's actually a nurse practitioner - i just say doc cuz she might as well be), the other nurse practitioner i saw when i had to make an emergency appointment and the overseeing doctor who i've also seen about this all offered to write letters backing me to the lawyer, the landlord and the college of arts and sciences.
so i've covered my bases for the most part. any ideas/suggestions/criticisms?
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From:
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i know you have had a hard time finding a new apartment in the past so i assume that moving isn't an option but honestly if the mold damage is that significant i would guess the building should be condemned. it would put you out a place to live but you could call the health authorities and it will be dealt with immediately, i assume. mold in buildings usually leads to their destruction, not repair.
i would suggest getting your neighbours to write statements about their experiences (affidavits?) that will back yours. starting a petition asking for more aggressive action from the building management might seem pointless, but it would serve as a record of people who have been affected by the problems and is probably not a bad idea.
if you really want to make a scene - call the media. slum-lord human interest stories are extremely marketable. if you decided to go this route - get back to me and i will advise you on what moves to make. you will get to a point where the media will take up the fight with the building management but before that happens you will have to try and get the media into your apartment to document the damage and do initial interviews.
all the best. i'm really worried about you and wish you had some place else to go. i would continue taking zyrtec even if it doesn't seem like it is doing anything... it will at least help your immune system by decreasing its response to environmental irritants and allergies. take care.
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the human interest story is intriguing... i'll have to mull that over a bit.
i've been a good girl and taking my zyrtec daily, and it does take the edge off a bit, i just wish i could do something for this cough because my lungs and throat are seriously so raw and sore :(
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Did you write him any certified letters about the problems?
documented any of it with pictures?
If not, start doing that.
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You're probably going to need to move. I wish I could, my health has been fucked since the hurricane made the roof leak. Lung problem after lung problem and my doctor keeps asking me if I smoke, and I'm like, NO, ASSHOLE, I AM ALLERGIC TO MOLD AND MY HOUSE HAS WATER DAMAGE. REMEMBER THAT HURRICANE?