SLUDGE VICTIMS

less. On the last night in our home, I had to go to bed at about 10 pm. I literally had no energy to continue with the cleanup of the house and moving of boxes.

The next day, I was able to stay the night in the new house. My husband stayed at the old house to finish moving things out. I woke up feeling horrible and sweating. After closing, the realtor took me up to Northern Virginia. All I wanted to do was go to the doctor, as something was terribly wrong. My mother took my temperature when I got there and it read 104.6. She took it again in disbelief. It was the same. She phoned the doctor who had me come in immediately. The look on the faces of the office workers was upsetting to me. Blank stares were what I was met with.

The fever was high enough for them to send me for x-rays. I don't remember much of the doctor visit, only that they put me on an 'adult strength' antibiotic and told my mother to watch me. Normally, I only need ampicillin, or the 'pink kids stuff' as I like to call it. They wanted me to go the hospital should I become delirious. The x-rays were clean, so they had no idea what was wrong with me. From previous visits, they knew I was forcibly exposed to sludge. However, since they never knew exactly what was I was exposed to in the sludge, there was no way to test me for anything in particular.

My mother took care of me for the week (she is a Registered Nurse). I remember lying on the couch and waking up to her touching me and exclaiming 'oh my God!' due to how soaking wet I was from sweating. The fever would go up and down all day and all night long. I would literally be drenched, so drenched that she would have to change the blankets and entire pillow around me

I came home to our new house after the week and started going about the business of starting over from scratch. We were literally starting over with the few remaining livestock that we did not sell off, but no outbuildings or facilities to house them in. I had fencing to put up, animals to feed and water and shelters for my husband to build. We did the minimum that we could afford to get away with. I still was not feeling right, though. The cough was getting worse now. My energy was low and I was beginning to cough so badly that I was relegated to the couch at night.

VIRGINIA - CULPEPER - VICTIM SUFFERS SEVERE HEADACHES, CONSTANT COUGH, NAGGING FATIGUE, NAUSEA, SEVERE DIARRHEA, RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS INCLUDING CHOKING, INABILITY TO BREATH. STATE AND FEDERAL HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY "NO DOCUMENTED CASES OF ILLNESS (FROM SLUDGE)"... YOUR SYMPTOMS ARE "PSYCHOSOMATIC"