Debbie O’Neal is breathing easy these days

11/09/09 By Diana Marcketta © 2009 Jewel1 Entertainment/Starry Sky Media, Inc. Debbie O’Neal thought her house would kill her. Her family had multiple nosebleeds, migraines, rashes and showed signs of osteoporosis. Debbie’s osteoporosis was deemed severe. Her menstrual cycle had stopped, her muscles ached constantly and she now has fibromyalgia. But worse, her kids were sick…all the time. Her son Sam – through 12 years of living in their doublewide manufactured home on her in-law’s Idaho ranch -- had slowly but steadily developed a growing number of medical conditions…asthma, respiratory infections, nosebleeds and constant allergies. The nosebleeds went on for an hour at a time necessitating a trip to the hospital emergency room. Sam experienced constant ear infections, nausea and several experiences with vertigo that laid him flat on the floor. Dede, her daughter had begun to have unexplainable seizures, one that even left her turning blue. But Debbie’s husband, Ted, who spent most of his time outdoors, rarely got sick. Then Debbie happened to turn on the television one day to a story about the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the FEMA manufactured homes that had stood for months awaiting delivery to the homeless and displaced. High levels of formaldehyde and other forms of toxicity had registered in the drywall of the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) trailers intended as temporary shelter for victims of ...