Life on Rural Street

Living in a big old house with a particularly large yard within city limits is fun. I love having our garden, being outside with the kids, having a dog and room for her to run. I love the high ceilings and spaciousness of the rooms. I love the woodwork and charm of the house. What don't I love? lead.

When we first moved into this house in 2006 we knew lead could be an issue for Téah. Unfortunately we had no idea how big of an issue it would end up being. For reference: anything over a level of 10 is considered lead poisoning. However, the goal is to have a level of 0, of course. And more and more research is coming out showing that any level can have ill-effects both now and later on in adolescence and adulthood. Lovely, right?

Téah's level initially went up when we moved in back in May of 2006. So we decided to make one room "safe" for her since she was learning to crawl and generally be a lot more mobile. We opted for the family room. All 3 of us slept, ate, watched tv, hung out, etc. in that room. We had no working kitchen at the time and only minimal bathroom facilities for awhile. It was an interesting time! Téah did learn to crawl in this room - I kept it mopped and cleaned and regularly wet-dusted the rest of the room so it would be safe for her. I also made sure she was eating iron, calcium and vitamin C-rich foods to help with the amount of lead absorption in her body. So we went back for a follow-up lead check. Imagine our surprise when it went UP. A considerable amount! We were a bit flabbergasted and understandably very upset. No parent wants to be responsible for any ill-effects on their child now or later on in life. So we immediately moved out of the house, started bunking in John's parents' basement (they were extremely gracious and hospitable!) in hopes we could discover the sources of lead and be done with it. John found a professional lead inspector, paid a pretty penny and had a full day of lead testing done at the house. It was intense. We discovered it was all over the place - much more than we had anticipated. The worst part was the absolute highest level of lead in the house was on the floor of the family room. That's right, the floor Téah learned to crawl on. I honestly thought I might throw up when I heard that bit of news. So we had carpet installed, we sealed, primed, painted trim, painted the outside of the house... etc. It was A LOT of work and John did A LOT of it! When we were feeling ok about the state of things we moved back in the house. This was in January of 2007. About the time I found out I was pregnant with Micah.

We had Téah's lead tested a few times in there and it continually came down. Although never ALL the way down to zero which means she is still exposed to it regularly.

fast forward to this July:

Micah went in for his 9 month appt. and I, with his pediatrician's advice, opted to have his lead level tested now rather than wait for the normal 1 year checkup when most parents have this tested. Thank goodness we tested it early! Micah's initial reading came back at 19! Then with a full blood draw it came back at 15.8. Way too high. Obviously something was going on. John and I were pretty sure that it was from some work being done on the back porch that had stirred up more dust than normal. We also know that the front porch ceiling is an issue (working on that). We have since come to find out that the lead level in our water is pretty high. Filtered water only around these parts, thank you. Micah's level was tested this week and it has come down to 11. So it is on its way down - but honestly, not enough for me. I want both of my children to be completely lead free. And I don't know if that will ever happen living in this house.

I am struggling with enjoying my house now. I am tired of the constant worry. Tired of the constant dusting and mopping and washing of hands. I am tired of the endless projects that are never finished. I also know that this is a time period and hopefully one day I'll look back on it and everything will be fine. But it is a very frustrating time for us right now. I never wanted to sacrifice my children's health for a house. And although know ultimately this is not the case it is hard.

So it comes to this: I have a love/hate relationship with my house. And if Micah's level is not down a considerable amount more at his next check John and I have seriously talked about selling this house. And I can't even begin to tell you how much I DON'T want to do that.

The lesson to take away? Lead is nothing to mess with. If you are moving into an old house and have young children, pay the money (yes, it's expensive) and have a thorough lead inspection down. Our children are well worth the investment.