When you move into a property, you typically don’t expect it to start trying to off you and your family.
Buying your dream home is an achievement not many people get to enjoy these days.
When Alexandra Campos and her husband Jefte Campos, from Fort Worth, Texas, US, bought the $225,000 (£165,920.63) house, they were excited to start their new journey with their three children.
Having bought it in September 2021, the couple didn’t suspect anything was amiss.
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However, when their four-year-old daughter, Maeve, started having a high heart rate and a rasp to her voice before turning the colour of a ‘tomato’ just one year later, things began to get worrying.
The child was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease and Thyroid Eye Disease.
Graves is an autoimmune disease which sees a person develop hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), and symptoms can include a fast heart rate, feeling shaky, losing weight without trying, heat intolerance and an enlarged thyroid gland.
Thyroid Eye Disease is an inflammatory disorder that affects the tissues around the eyes, causing swelling and discomfort.
It accompanies an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid gland.
Alexandra, 29, said that this was just the beginning for the family, and soon, her husband was getting rashes and flare-ups of an autoimmune disease he had before they bought the house.
She also said her six-year-old son, who has autism spectrum disorder, was affected because he developed brain inflammation, leaving him unable to speak for a period of time.
The mum said she began to have extreme tiredness, dizziness and muscle pain, and was went on to be diagnosed with chronic fatigue.
Alexandra believes that her home caused her family to get sick, stating that it was ‘killing’ them.
Alexandra said: "It was our first home and we were so excited. Being a young couple, we were ecstatic to get our first home.
"We had really bad health issues for years before we realised, we had looked for signs of mould previously, I'm very tidy and I clean constantly.
"Something usually triggers an autoimmune disease. We changed our diet, we did everything and did not know what was causing it.”
She said: "My husband was hospitalised for a week and I thought something was killing us.
"I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue, I was just exhausted all the time, my feet hurt, I couldn't walk on the ground without comfy slippers. I couldn't wear my wedding ring because my hands were swollen and painful.”
In June 2024, the couple were shocked to find hidden water damage two and a half years later after living in the home, underneath the floorboards in their bathroom, due to a leaking water pipe under the toilet.
Shockingly, a company found mould inside the walls, as well as underneath the flooring of the entire home.
They told the family it was uninhabitable to live in, and they moved to a friend’s home and set up a GiveSendGo fundraiser to help pay for the $80,000 (£58987.70) to remediate the house.
Sadly, the extent of the mould meant that they had to give away their belongings due to the particles.
"We've gone through major grieving processes, we've grieved it a lot. We lost all of our belongings, we threw our couch, beds, rugs, dressers, everything got thrown away," said the mum.
Alexandra said: "My son has autism, he had a lot of regression throughout living there. People call it mould rage and we definitely noticed that with him, it causes brain inflammation.”
She added: "We had rashes and respiratory things but it would always present itself like a cold. Looking back, we really were sick all the time.”
Stating that they all feel ‘better’ since moving out, they are still trying to find a plan for their future now that their home is being torn up.
Britt Jones