The Taylor Family
The
Taylor’s live in Marietta, Ohio and today they have three lovely, active
children. However several years ago
they had a frightening discovery. Their
two children (at the time these were all the children they had) who were both
the age of two were discovered through a lead screen to have lead poisoning.
They had their children tested at the Family Health Services clinic, and
they were shocked, because neither of their children had been displaying any
symptoms of lead poisoning. This is
very typical of lead poisoning – one of the reasons it is so insidious and so
prevalent is because children experiencing lead poisoning do not exhibit
symptoms of the poisoning.
At
this time the backyard of the house they were living in had formerly been a
junkyard. The house itself was very
old, and had peeling paint on the external and internal surfaces of the house.
The Taylor’s experience highlights two common sources of contamination
that can result in poisoning: old deteriorating lead based paint, and abandoned
or contaminated industrial sites.
After
the family found out about the poisoning of their two two-year olds they
attempted to control the effects of the toxins through changes in diet, in
housing, and in hygienic procedure. They
were forced to move from their house and find a new one, to wash their and the
children’s hands often, and watch that the children were eating healthy,
fresh, nutritious foods. Foods high
in fat, sodium, and starch only exasperate the effects of the lead toxin in a
child’s body.
Thankfully
for the Taylor’s they found the staff at the Marietta Family Health Center to
be very helpful. The real problem
for the Taylor’s was an overindulgent grandmother who refused to keep the
children on a healthy diet!
Impact:
This situation was a frightening one for the family, especially for Mrs. Taylor. Not only was she worried about the health and well being of her children, she was also worried about how and where they could find new housing, if they would be able to find something that was both affordable and safe. This is a problem for many working families in today’s housing market. The good economy has driven up the rent prices statewide, and people have to pay more money for lesser quality housing, and it is increasingly difficult for working families to find safe, affordable housing. The Taylor’s indicated that they were forced to constantly move in a quest to find safe, affordable lead safe housing. This moving wore on the children, and they told their parents that they just wanted to have a home and a school that they could stay in for an extended period of time.
Today, several years since their initial diagnosis, the effects of the lead poisoning are still working themselves out in the lives of the Taylor’s children. Their six-year old is having problems learning at the speed of his peers. The wish of the Mrs. Taylor, and her reason for participation in the Faces of Lead program is so that other families will learn about lead poisoning, will know how to assess their own housing, so that more children do not become lead poisoned.