Physically, Mentally, Emotionally Surviving Being Scammed (4)

Previous post (Part 3): Physically, Mentally, Emotionally Surviving Being Scammed (3)

By now I think it has become evident about what was going on, so I won’t go into as much detail as I have thus far done. With incomplete construction of areas of the addition (foundation, roof, framing, walls, trim, etc.), the sense that HE has to finish those areas prevails, ensuring that I will continue expecting him to finish (any day now) and, of course, it didn’t.  Time just went by with work unfinished. And cost of labor and materials continued to rise.

But some unfinished work caused more pain and aggravation than just cost and frustration. And those brought on considerable stress at all levels.

Fascia not installed. Thus flying squirrels got into the new attic. One board between the original attic and the new attic not nailed. Thus flying squirrels in both attics for 6 weeks. Did you know that flying squirrels are nocturnal? So that means 6 weeks of no sleep.

Access door for the crawl space not completed, so snakes did go inside.

Closet for freezer (that had been measured over and over and over again) built too small. Later had to remove all trim and the door for inside shelves so that the freezer could be carefully (and just barely) eased into the closet.

Measuring and measuring and measuring to cut out the holes in the beadboard for the light sockets and switches, ending up throwing several beadboard panels away because the holes he made did not align. The five extra beadboards I bought ended up not being enough.

But the worst was the glue for the walls. Remember how I noted that he uses a LOT of glue? Well he glued the beadboard walls to the plywood behind them. He did this in the latter part of August, and the ragweed that I am allergic to was in season when it releases its pollen. So that night I closed all the windows and doors before going to bed in my loft. The next morning I awoke feeling drugged, shaky, nauseated, weak. I did not recognize the strong odor that permeated the house. My first thought was about the cat. Their sensitive metabolism makes them very similar to canaries. So with much effort and strain, I slowly eased myself down the ladder, demanding myself to keep moving, and wishing I could go faster. The dog was still in his bed, but had looked up as I passed. I went to the cat’s bed and with relief saw that she was still alive. I immediately opened all the windows and doors and went outside to try to clear my lungs and my head. Eventually I found the glue containers – subflooring adhesive – not to be used indoors – call poison center if breathe in the vapors – causes kidney, liver, CNS (Central Nervous System) failure. I found the almost empty and full containers on the floor in various areas of the addition which I collected in plastic bags and put outside. I worried (thus more stressed) about my health, not realizing the worst of it was yet to happen.

A few days later my dog, a rescue dog whom I had promised five and a half years ago to give him a forever home (from the signs of old wounds and mended bones, his life had not been an easy one before)  was unable to walk down the porch steps easily. For days after that he began pulling the fur and skin off his paws, legs, and tail. I was continually dressing the wounds to keep him from bleeding to death, but he would not stop. And then I noticed him straining to relieve his bowels with no success; then hours later as he walked into the house, his stools just fell out of him. August 31st, a Thursday, I took my dog, Niko, to his vet who immediately said if I had not brought him in then, I would have brought him in Saturday when the next stage probably would have begun – the inability to urinate – the most painful condition of both dog and man. Niko had developed CNS failure. Tearfully I said goodbye to my beloved dog, thankful that at least he was no longer in pain.

So it continues with numerous construction errors and unfinished work. I became more and more depressed. On my birthday I realized that I had lost a lot of weight. I had become a weight that I had not had since middle school. Being a holistic nutritionist, I knew how to eat healthy foods and as a Master Herbalists, I knew which herbs I needed to help me manage my depression. But I wasn’t really going to get any better with him in my house.

So near the end of October I told him not to come back. The last thing he did was FINALLY put a door on the foundation access.  Door? Actually he built a quick frame for the access hole and NAILED a piece of plywood to it. Took him 15 minutes. I didn’t know at the time that he also glued the door to the frame so that later it took two big men 30 minutes to pull that board off.

And guess what! After I fired him, the very next day and weeks afterwards other people who did construction or were “handy men”came to my rescue. They gave me very low quotes or bartered to get the unfinished work done. One man actually said that he felt bad for me being scammed. I hadn’t even realized until then that I had been scammed. Since then I have met others who have gone through a similar experience. Apparently this is not an uncommon form of scam. (So take note… please don’t let it happen to you)

Once the last of it was complete, except for the two tasks I set to do myself in the Spring (paint the trim and install the radiant insulation in the new attic), I felt my life was truly back to being mine. Now time to heal.

And that is what I hope to share with you, dear readers. The healing process. In an occasional article in the near future, I would like to share how I got my physical, mental and emotional health back.  Maybe someday, with this knowledge, it will help you or someone you love.

So hopefully you will stay tuned…