ENGLEWOOD, Fla. — A family is mourning the loss of 26-year-old Christian Childers. He died on Monday, leaving behind his fiancé and two boys.
Flooding from Hurricane Ian led to mold inside their Englewood home. Childers' fiancé explained that he has asthma and after he was exposed to the mold, it led to serious health conditions.
His fiancé, Kendra Elliott, described Childers as quiet.
"I have the spunk and he has the calmness," Elliot said.
Together, they raised two boys, one is 9 years old and the other is 4 years old.
"My children are now growing up without their daddy and that is not OK. Not OK. He was a good man," Elliot said.
Elliot recalled that everything started after Hurricane Ian. Their Englewood home flooded like so many. Shortly after when they went without power for weeks, mold grew inside their house.
"Got a little Florida heat and created mold so it just started growing out of control," Elliot said.
Soon after, a pipe burst inside their house. Elliot said that’s when the mold got worse, as did Childers' health.
He was admitted to the hospital. Christmas Eve was the last time Elliot saw him not in a hospital bed hooked up to dozens of wires and tubes.
"He has asthma so he went into anaphylactic shock due to the poisoning of the mold which set him out into cardiac arrest, which stopped him from getting blood to the brain, so clinically he was pronounced dead," Elliot said.
Doctor Gupta, an associate professor and program director of public health at Florida Gulf Coast University, explained mold can be toxic and especially dangerous for someone with asthma.
"Mold-induced anaphylaxis can cause death if not treated promptly," he said. "In sensitive individuals with pre-existing asthma, molds can trigger an acute attack of asthma that can be life-threatening if left untreated.
"People who have deficient immune systems may develop serious lung infections from mold exposure. Certain molds can infect food and produce toxic substances called mycotoxins, which have the potential to cause a variety of serious health effects. For example, acute poisoning after consumption of food containing a large dose of mycotoxins can lead to liver failure and death."
Elliot said they went to FEMA and the Red Cross for help when they were living with mold.
"We went back down to FEMA and we kept getting denied housing assistance," she said.
Elliot said her next goal is to use Childers' story to help others.
"There are so many other families going through this and this has to stop and this will stop. I don’t wish this upon anybody," she said.
Eliot wants FEMA to make it easier for those with mold to get assistance.
"I want that policy changed because according to FEMA, my house is still livable because there’s a roof intact. Clearly, it’s not, my fiancé just died," Elliot said.
Childers was known to be shy, but Elliot won’t be with his story. She hopes to help others avoid this heartache.
"Love and prayers to whoever is going through this. Whoever is in the same boat I am, hang in there because hopefully, help will be on the way soon," Elliot said.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to FEMA to see how they are assisting Childers' family from here. We also asked if they did try to help him and Elliot. If they denied them assistance, we asked FEMA to explain why.
Elliot said she is staying with a friend and raising money to get a trailer to live in for her and her two boys.