Elizabeth's Story

Discovery

Patrick and his wife live in a small town in Northeastern Ohio and have a daughter.  The couple had done some renovations on their old home, and they had taken safety measures and consulted their doctor prior to the work, since they were aware of the dangers of lead hazards.  Unfortunately, their safeguards proved not to be enough to prevent the effects of lead on the little girl’s health.  Patrick tells their story about the misinformation, the vague answers, and the frustration they went through:

“Shortly after Elizabeth’s birth, I talked to the family doctor about the renovations I was doing on the outside of our home.  I was using a heat gun and a grit sander to strip paint to bare wood, but I kept the windows shut and I was not tracking chips into the house. The doctor said it sounded like I was taking care and he did not see a problem.  At the time of my daughter’s first birthday I had one of the paint chips tested to see if the paint we were stripping was actually lead-based paint.  It was.

Therefore, at my daughter’s one-year check up I asked for a lead test.  After waiting more than two weeks for the results I called the doctor.  That physician said that my daughter’s lead level was 41 ug/dl, which he said was “slightly elevated.”  He told my wife not to be concerned, because the child was healthy and showed no signs of symptoms.  He added that the Health Department would be notified as a standard procedure.  My wife asked out family doctor how to prevent further exposure, but he gave no helpful recommendations.  When discussing treatment options, he suggested a three-week chelation treatment in the house.  This advice would have further jeopardized my daughter’s health.  He assured us that lead poisoning was a problem of the past and that we should really not be concerned.” 

Fortunately, Patrick’s wife was not satisfied with the vague responses.  After numerous frustrating telephone calls for information to the local hospital, poison control center, County Health Department and a trip to the local library she was finally put in touch with an Ohio Department of Health (ODH) lead expert.  Up to that point he was the only person who gave the family any information about what a “41” level meant.  He was alarmed and recommended that the little girl be removed from the home and hospitalized with full medical work.

Patrick’s daughter was hospitalized at Children’s Hospital.  By that time her lead level had rise to 46.  However she responded to the treatment and the drugs that the hospital put her on.  In the meantime Patrick and his wife tried to get tested themselves, but the doctor would not send the blood work to the lab.  They then found out that the doctor had “sat on” the results of their daughter’s blood work until two weeks later when they had tracked down the results.  They pursued the immediate changing of physicians.

Then ODH tested their entire house and found the whole thing to be contaminated.  They were about to use special procedures to clean up every single item: clothing, furniture, walls, windows, etc.  About two weeks into the clean up the couple found out that they both were lead poisoned as well.  Patrick’s levels were at 64 and his wife’s were at 10.  He was removed from the house as well.  It took many days to find a qualified physician who knew what to do with an adult whose levels were so high. 

They were out of their house for six weeks, and they had tremendous difficulty securing alternate housing in that time.  In this way they learned about the ignorance and stigma that surround the issue of lead poisoning.  They eventually had to impose on friends since they were unable to find any housing, and they were having to pay for the lead clean up expenses since their insurance policy had an exclusion regarding lead paint clean up and removal. 

Due to an ODH delay the family had to return to the house not knowing whether or not it was really safe, since it had not yet been retested.  They experienced a great deal of “fear and frustration, not knowing if our efforts were enough to prevent further damage”, explains Patrick. 

“It was a horrendous experience, still we are fortunate.  We have met many families who have children diagnosed with developmental disabilities as a result of lead poisoning.  To date, neither my daughter not I show any effects from the lead.  However, there was, and continues to be, a lot of fear of unknown factors.  We have read studies that report IQ points lost for ever number above 10, which is very unsettling since our daughter has not had a 10 blood lead level in nearly two years.  Currently she receives monthly blood check-ups.”

 The Center for Disease Control recommends the blood lead level be below 15 ug/dl for one year before moving to a less frequent monitoring. * 

Most of the frustration the family has received has been because of lack of information and resources available.  He felt that if they had just trusted their primary physician and not pursued the issue any further than their family would not have been diagnosed and treated until permanent damage had been done.  Now the couple speaks at conferences and tries to educate owners of older homes to be wary of self-renovation if they have no knowledge of safe lead paint removal.  They feel very strongly that there needs to be a better way to warn and educate people about lead poisoning. 

Their daughter currently appears to be reaching all developmental milestones on target and experts have told the couple not to worry.  But they still live with much uncertainty and apprehension because no one is able to predict if behavioral and learning problems will result in years to come.