Day 98 | A Joyous Reunion & A New Problem

This morning I woke up feeling excited. I’m going to see my family today! I can’t wait! It’s going to be so special!

I was a little bit nervous too. What if I react to them? What if the whole thing is a disaster? I want them to see me doing well! They’ve already seen more than enough of my sickness!

At around 1:30pm my family texted to let us know that they had arrived at our campground and were in the parking lot waiting for us. Yippee! I could hardly contain my excitement!

We got in the van and drove around to meet them. We thought it best to meet in the parking lot first in case I reacted strongly to them and we decided it wasn’t a good idea to hang out near our campsite.

When we parked, I got out of the van so that Brett could film Ramona’s reaction to seeing me again. I was supposed to stay near the van so that he could film without getting out but I misunderstood and started running towards my family. I couldn’t help it!

Ramona came right up to me when she saw me and then she started running around and jumping on everyone. Brett got out of the van and sat down on the pavement. She jumped into his lap and started licking his face over and over! Then she came over to me again and did the same. Lots of happy puppy kisses! It was a joyous reunion!

Then we got up from the pavement and gave each of my family members a big hug! It was so wonderful! My heart was so happy! I didn’t have any clear reactions but I ran back to the van immediately to decontaminate just in case. Brett told me afterward that they were all amazed to see me running! That made me smile! 🙂

After that we decided that we could hang out together near our campsite. We chose the spot next to ours and I sat about 20 feet away upwind from them. I realize that all these precautions probably sound a little OCD to my readers who are unfamiliar with mold hyper-reactivity.

It still seems a bit crazy to me too but sadly, it’s not uncommon for hyper-reactive individuals to react to people who have lived in problematic environments. This might be because they’re carrying mold spores and mycotoxins on their hair and clothing or perhaps because they have mycotoxins in their systems and are exhaling them as they detox. Anecdotal evidence suggests that both are possible.

Since this illness is so poorly understood we decided to take a “better safe than sorry” approach to start with and then re-evaluate as the visit goes on. Things seemed to be going swimmingly and we really enjoyed our time together, laughing and chatting.

Towards the end though I started to feel it a little bit. It was like a cloud of fatigue and heaviness settled over me. I didn’t really want to say anything… What if I’m just imagining it and scare everyone for nothing? Better wait and see.

It wasn’t long before my family had to leave to do their own laundry. The time seemed to pass too quickly and I was sad that we couldn’t do our laundry together. The original plan was that we’d be staying on the same property.

When they left, Ramona stayed with us so that she could start getting used to the new lifestyle before having to say goodbye to everyone. She didn’t protest at all. She loved sniffing and exploring the campsite on her long leash.

I told Brett that I wasn’t feeling too great and he sent me into the van to decontaminate right away. Then I laid down on the picnic table and rested. Ramona came up to me though begging to cuddle and I just couldn’t resist her cuteness. I let her cuddle up against me even though I knew it probably wasn’t the best decision. Sometimes you have to live a little! We just got her back and I couldn’t bear to make her feel unwanted!

After a while though, it was clear that I wasn’t feeling any better even though I had decontaminated. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to keep cuddling with Ramona but it was hard to admit it.

Brett thought I should shower and go right to bed even though it was only 5pm. I happily agreed. I was exhausted and my pain levels had crept up significantly. I also noticed that my hands and feet were going numb a lot. Great, I haven’t had that symptom in months.

I showered, got in bed and spent the evening resting… and to be completely honest, worrying. What if we can’t keep Ramona? What if I can’t spend much time with my family? What if this was all a big waste of time and money that is going to end in disappointment? What if I crash really badly? How is Brett going to be able to work, do the chores and take care of me?

Okay brain, that’s enough. It’s only the first day. Not time to jump to conclusions yet. Chill out.

By the way, Brett and I made a beautiful PDF of my favorite resources for suffering souls. I created the content and he made it look fancy with his superduper graphic design skills. It’s available for free to my email subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive 5 Resources for the Suffering Soul.