While CA will never be TX, this is a big step in making it more livable & feeling more like home. It's also a big step in my healing since I'm not very tolerant of heat. Since we were having the AC installed, we thought it might be a good time to look at a whole house air filtration system. My hubby and I both started doing research. Interesting, research involves me googling website & sending them to hubby b/c by that point - either from chemicals, Lyme brain or CFS brain fog - I can't comprehend anymore. Anyway, in researching we found that once we create a 'clean' house I'll start to feel much better immediately but may react more to outside pollutants.
Since I'm not housebound and spend a lot of time in doctor's offices, the Pilates studio, church, my mother-in-law's, etc I thought I'd look into wearing a mask to help filter pollutants outside the house. I realize I may look ridiculous, but I still have hope of actually beating this thing once & for all so if a little silliness in the process is involved the so be it. Anyway, I found the following on the Chronic Neuroimmune Diseases website:
CALIFORNIA Penal Code Section 182-185185. Section One Hundred and Eighty-five. It shall be unlawful for any person to wear any mask, false whiskers, or any personal disguise (whether complete or partial) for the purpose of: One--Evading or escaping discovery, recognition, or identification in the commission of any public offense. Two--Concealment, flight, or escape, when charged with, arrested for, or convicted of, any public offense. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
I also found the following account of a Lymie here in the bay area about being questioned by the police for wearing a mask:
So last night around 9:15 p.m. my mom and I were coming back from a doctor’s appointment trip, and the car needed gas. With my MCS, I can't be in the car when my mom is fueling up without getting a huge reaction which affects my airways. So my mom dropped me off at a park, which was down the street from the gas station....you can see the gas station and park from each other. She wanted me to take our pepper spray with me, for protection. I had my sunglasses, earplugs and mask on.
So I am waiting for my mom, and a police car drives up. Two policemen come out of the car, and ask me what I am doing. I told them that my mom was down the street getting gas and that I have MCS... I can't handle the fumes from the gas. One of the policemen says "Right" with the tone of "Yeah, Right"—didn't believe me. Then they pointed their flashlight at me and I flinched...light sensitivity. And then of course they have fragrance on them, so I was reacting and my lungs were burning and I was having a hard time breathing.
So I told them that I was about to step back, because I was reacting to their laundry soap. And the police man says again "Right" in the same tone as before...so I stepped back, and they stepped forward. Then I showed them the pepper spray that I had in my hand, like you can see it if you want. And he asked why I had it, I told him 1) that my over-protective mom told me to carry it and 2) because I am sick, I have Lyme and I needed to protect myself if something happened. He then says “Right" again. Then he asked if I was from around the area, and I said, "No, I am traveling home from a doctor’s appointment, and my mom and I are on our way home." So then one of the men asked if I had ID, and I don't drive so I don't have one. So he asked me for all my information, and I gave it to him.
At this point, Makayla’s mom returned, saw her daughter being questioned by the police, and came barreling out of the car yelling, “If you have cologne on, you are causing her damage!” After she verified what Makayla had already told the police, they finally let them go. Legs still trembling from her scary encounter, Makayla turned on her oxygen to help her breathe better, and “took all the detox agents that I had.”
Luckily she wasn't charged with a misdemeanor! Can you imagine??? (to read more about Makayla Berndt, the founder of a Yahoo group for teens and young adults with Lyme disease, a published writer, go to http://www.lymedisease.org/news/touchedbylyme/45.html)
Luckily I am not nearly as sensitive as Makayla, but still... For those of us with any sensitivities what are we to do? I think we'll still get the house filtration system (next in line is a whole house water filter), but do I spend more time at home? I hope not. Do I react more when I leave the house? Again, I hope not. I guess wearing a mask is out of the question until I can get a doctor's note. CRAZY. That's all I have to say.
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