There's a killer stalking me day and night

Not Sooner forgotten ...

     Black mold is a killer that stalks me relentlessly day and night. You likely don't want to read about its life-threatening effects, but maybe someone will find my plight of benefit.

Black mold flatlined me

     Black mold flatlined me for 17 minutes -- the time my wife called 911 until paramedics paddled me back to life. I've endured three four-hour surgeries where teams of surgeons spent half a day scraping the crud from throughout my eight sinus cavities. It's impossible, though, to remove the

Black mold flatlined me for 17 minutes -- the time my wife called 911 until paramedics paddled me back to life. I've endured three four-hour surgeries where teams of surgeons spent half a day scraping the crud from throughout my eight sinus cavities. It's impossible, though, to remove the constant threat. Spores just bring it right back.

     I've heard Gary Cavins warn about black mold as a sponsor on KREF radio, home of OU fans, such as the Senior Sooner. His company handles such situations. I know my case is extreme, but this is what can happen if you don't treat black mold as a very real threat to your health. 

     I caught it while pastoring an antique church in the Colorado outback. A huge furry patch covered the wall of the utility room behind the washer and dryer. I walked past that colony several times a day going in and out of the pastor's study.

Black mold walls off each of my sinus cavities. Pressure then loosens the plugs, which can be as large as a quarter, with most so big they won't come out my nose. And that's the life-threatening problem: they must come out of my throat.

     Over the years I've learned to sense little changes in my sinuses that indicate a plug is loosening. This causes a red alert at whatever time it occurs. My job then is to stop whatever I'm doing and focus on staying alive.

     I use "snot hydraulics," continually snorting, blowing, hawking, using gravity and doing whatever it takes to break down plugs into pieces that will blow out my nose. Failing that, I must somehow stay conscious despite the sudden horrific pain of having a large hunk move from the back of my nose to clog my throat and block my breathing.

So far I'm able to Heimlich plugs while shopping or even driving. One even dropped during an OU basketball game last year. But the most dangerous time comes while I sleep. I typically spend an hour a night working my nose so that both nostrils are clear. I breathe through my nose to sense any changes and then handle them before going back to sleep, when I'm defenseless.

     I'll sense a change inside my nose then taste puss, signaling a plug is loose. Then I MUST concentrate on the threat until I force it safely out. There is no status quo, no peaceful coexistence. I must act immediately because another plug and then another and still another are going to drop.

Throughout all this God has been merciful. Think of it: a little sinus pressure causes you a lot of pain, right? To have black mold block off and pressurize my entire sinus area should have been absolutely unbearable. But it wasn't.

     Okay, I wasn't myself, far from it, but I still was able to serve as a modem tech for AOL, then as a missionary to the Internet. It's God's will that I cope with this continual threat, but He has mercifully removed most of the pain.

Those combined 12 hours scraping my sinuses might have deadened some nerve endings. The first surgery sadly did take away my sense of smell, but my condition still should be much more painful. So thank you, Lord. I also credit Him for somehow being able to sense changes and having the patience and ability to resolve each threat.

     Bottom line: black mold will NOT go away. It'll always be a threat.

      Still, I'm doing pretty good for being almost 80. With God's continual help I've learned to live with black mold against all odds.

     God has a reason for allowing my condition. I can only guess why. But at least I'm alive today to warn that black mold is a killer. I didn't know it could be such a threat. Now I do.

     And by reading this far, so do you. Don't let the horrors of black mold happen to you. Eradicate it! Now!