I spoke on the phone with an older woman who couldn't go back into her home. All the
things in her house were covered with mold, including the walls, and she was sick in the hospital with
pneumonia.
She told me that when she left the hospital, she wanted to go back home to her things.
I told her that if she went back to her home, she would be putting herself in a life or death situation. Breathing in the mold had almost killed her. If she went back in her weakened state, she could die. I said that she would be better off living with family members, and having her things properly disposed of by mold removal experts who would wear the proper protective gear.
She complained that her things were very important to her.
I told her my situation of having gotten a lung disease from breathing in mold and other toxic substances, and having to get a lung transplant to survive.
I said I understood it would be hard to let go of things that belonged to her. But her life was more valuable than anything in her
home. She could always get new things, but she couldn't get a new life.