Do...or Die

So I decided that 2019 would be my "do or die" year. I would escape the mold and find a path to healing, or die trying. So we left our moldy house in humid and rainy inland PNW and the hubs found a job in Phoenix. He thought that with Phoenix being in the desert that it would be a dry, safe, smoke-free place to live. I was worried, gut instinct actually screaming "NO!" but his voice and my rational mind said 'hey, it's the desert, how could it be bad?'

How, indeed? Oh my freaking holy hell! Phoenix is the worst, most toxic-feeling place I have ever been. I could feel it like a sick cloud of funk from miles outside of town. See driving there we took a route that took us through some pretty remote and pristine high desert and mountains. It was beautiful and I could feel how clear and healthy the air was from inside the car. But just north of Phoenix, in fact right around Anthem where some people say is outside the Phoenix bad air bubble I started to sense an icky feeling. 

My eyes began to burn and sting, pretty soon burning so intensely that I couldn't even keep them open. My nostrils followed with a burning sensation that soon traveled to my nasal passages. Just as I snuffled out a breath after feeling the burning, my daughter with sinus troubles also mentioned that her nose, sinuses, and throat were burning and swelling. I quickly passed back breathing masks to both girls and swim goggles. I covered my own face with a wet washcloth to filter out the painful toxins and soothe some of the inflammation. I tried to breathe and focus but I could feel the panic setting in. If Phoenix felt this bad on the outskirts, how could we live here? My husband tried to reassure me that it was just something about this area, that it might be better closer to his new workplace. 

No such luck! All of Phoenix has a horrible cloud of toxins hanging over it, mixed with terrible pollution because of its rank as one of the top ten most populated metropolitan areas in the country and its physical characteristics as a valley bowl that loves to trap pollution and toxins between mountains. 

When we got to the hotel, I knew right away things were going to go from bad to worse. I just had no idea how much worse. To be continued...