Can You Help?

at

dortdom

kellyfamily

Top: Dort and Dom Kelly and from left: Jake, Luke and Josh. Above: Danish newspaper Nordjyeske .

An expat in trouble…

Sheila Larkin  writes:

These are my good friends Dorte and her husband Dom Kelly. I first met Dorte in 1999 when she lived and worked here in Dublin. She was one of the nicest people working in HMV on Henry Street. She met her future husband Dom, who originates from Tallaght. They moved to Dorte’s home country of Denmark in 2003 and they got married in 2004.They have since had the wonderful Luke (aged 3) and twins Jake & Josh (aged 18 months).
Recently Dorte had invasive surgery to remove 3/4 of one lung to save her from lung cancer.They then lost their house to a very serious and dangerous mould, which their home insurance wont cover. Their luck has been horrendous. For them and their three boys, two of whom have their own health problems.
They are stuck, they are running out of money to pay the rent for their new accommodation. They need to either fix their current house, which is now worthless due to the mould but still paying a mortgage on. Or find a new house to buy. Both options need money they don’t have.
Dorte’s work colleague have set up this fundraiser to help.
Their full story can be found here (see fundraiser link). Trust me when I say you won’t me nicer people than the Kelly’s of Vrå. And I want to help them. I hope you can too. Even if it’s just a Euro, I know Dorte and Dom would be forever grateful.

Sponsored Link

32 thoughts on “Can You Help?

  1. Soundings

    Don’t mean to downplay what sounds like a grim situation for nice people, but what sort of mould can’t be killed with a good spraying with bleach?

    1. maa

      Have you never watched extreme makeover: home edition???

      There’s mould that a good spray of bleach just won’t get rid…alot includes the use of biohazard suits and special treatment…it’s not good and can cause serious health problems.

      Sure didn’t yer woman Brittany Murphy and her husband die from inhaling mould spores 6 months apart…

      1. scottser

        a good steam cleaner is your only man. you’d have to do it a few times though and keep on top of it. mould is a symptom of greater issue of condensation and poor ventilation though.

      2. Lilly

        Mould can be extremely serious and detrimental to health. I knew someone who had same problem in an apartment in Smithfield and it almost cost him his sanity – plus a few teeth and two years of bad health before he found the cause and moved out.

      1. Soundings

        Nigela, I would be interested in your source on that. I can tell that building maintenance diplomas teach students that diluted bleach WILL kill mould (and that you shouldn’t wash it as water just encourages growth). Anyway, as explained by Dom below, it’s more than just a small patch of mould, the building needs restructuring for whatever reason to deal with dampness. But for the small (say 6 inch squared) patch of mould, I would be interested to see if there are sources which say bleach isn’t effective.

        1. Nigel

          Why the hell am I Nigela above? that’s weird.

          To be honest I remember reading it in a book years ago and I’ve taken it as a truism ever since. For mould, I find vinegar and baking soda effective, albeit with a bit of scrubbing.

  2. Sarah Murphy

    Be some craic to work with a woman called Dorte. “ya dorte hoor” etc. Hahaha.

    Anyway. Small donation going their way. Dorte bastids!

  3. Wearnicehats

    Just checked my own insurance out of interest. I’m specifically not covered for mould damage either. Better keep an eye and nose out

    If it’s a timber frame house (common in denmark) and the mould has fooked the timber then the house is up against it alright.

  4. Dom

    As the owner of the house, I can answer Soundings question.
    First of all we had no idea of the environment we were living in, the 3 children and my wife had pneumonia and chest infections more or less constantly over the last few years. Up until April 2014 I was away in my truck and only home on weekends but since April I have been home every night and I also have had pneumonia a couple of times. So while my wife was in hospital recovering from her lung cancer op, I decided to get the technological institute out to check the house. They advised we move out that day.
    The basement was fully infected with mould also the attic. The gable end of the house all of the way up was also but it was concealed by wall units and cladding. We couldn’t see it.
    Recommendations were to dig the basement up and damp proof it, also 2 meters down outside around the house and put in drainage and pumps. Ventilation in basement. In the attic, remove all insulation , chemically clean all the mould, replace insulation and ventilation.
    Damp proof the gable wall where there used to be a house before. New kitchen and take down inside walls and build up again.
    It will cost between 70000-90000 euro to fix this properly, the house cost about 100000. The other recommendation was to knock it down. So we basically have lost our house. The house has been there for over 100 years and has always been dry, they believe that the ground water table has risen plus the removal of an adjoining house has caused it.
    Our friends have been so kind to help us, we would never or never have asked for help, but on this album occasion I’m afraid I have no choice but to accept all the help I can get.
    We have been out of the house five weeks now and all of us are well. My son Lukey has been to kindergarten a full four weeks now, the longest he has been before was two weeks and two days without being sick.
    I hope this answers the question. Bleach won’t do it, if it did I don’t think the danish media would be too interested.
    Thanks
    Dom

    1. Bejayziz

      Thats awful, is there any way of identifying this particular mould by sight? I wouldnt be able to tell one spore from the next

    2. Joe the Lion

      Thanks for these comments Dom. I am having a problem with mould in my home at the moment but it pales into insignificance compared to this. I will be making some sort of donation and I hope it will be sorted out for you.

    3. Soundings

      Hi Dom, first and last, I’m sorry to hear about you and your family’s predicament. Thank God you have identified the problem and that the health of the family is improving. It sounds like a building nightmare, and I can personally commiserate with you, having owned an older home with ventilation, mould and damp proofing issues (though the mould was nothing compared with what you describe above).

      As is stated above in the article, the immediate issue is with funding, and I hope people are generous towards you and your family, best wishes to you all.

      1. Dom

        Thank you. This really knocked us, really all we care about now is our health, especially the children.

  5. Bejayziz

    Seems like one of those cases were throwing the matches into the vacated house and leaving the house might be the best option

  6. Swoon

    It’s quite embarrassing that soundings left that message and even more so that Dom had to read it.I feel for you Dom and family and hope you get that break you all deserve.x

    1. Joe the Lion

      many of the posters on this thing would not have a brain cell, and if they had it would be lonely

    1. Sheila

      Can your browser translate it? Chrome usually prompts to translate a site in another language.

      I winged it on my tablet and managed to muddle through.

  7. Meme me

    Can you not accidentally leave the gas fire on some day when you’re all out…the insurance will prob cover fire

  8. Marion Kealy

    Dom I can totally identify. Our kitchen roof fell in a few weeks ago dute to a leak that we didnt know was there. The insurance company wont cover it either . stating that it is not tstorm damage and they dont pay for ongoing problems. that need to be fixed Well unfortunately we have two small children and yes it will have to be fixed. I have never heard the likes. it seems insirance companies will do whatever they can to avoid paying. its disgraceful. I am now in hospital with a very serious throat infection. hence I have the time to write. I remember you from school. ( firhouse ) minus the beard. I wish you and your wife dorte and beautiful children to get well soon. All the best. marion kealy ( kelly )

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie