The Canary Report

Contributors

Team Canary

Susie Collins is founder and contributing editor at The Canary Report. She keeps busy doing a bunch of different things. She’s a writer working out of a home office, specializing in executive communications, with some freelancing in local and national politics. She gives a lot of time to her community. And she serves as an assistant to the chancellor at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Susie was diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in 1995. Raised on Kauai and Molokai, she now lives with her husband in Ookala on the island of Hawaii. She loves writing, gardening, animals, and politics. Read more than you ever really wanted to know about Susie here.

Linda Sepp is chief media researcher at The Canary Report. She developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivities in 1994 after a toxic carpet installation in an apartment below hers. She had been slightly “sensitive” to many perfumes and personal care products since the 1970s, only she didn’t know what that meant at the time. These and other experiences led her to research building and construction materials, indoor and outdoor air quality, household products, and the political landscape surrounding MCS and environmental health, making her the go-to person for many things MCS. Linda continues to spend her functional time researching material to help educate others about the toxic nature of everyday products and how they affect both people and the environment. Most notably, she’s researched and compiled information on the housing needs of people with MCS, as this is the most important determinant of health and the most difficult component to achieve without assistance and support. Along with her invaluable contributions to The Canary Report, Linda has contributed to MCS America and other MCS and environmental health organizations. She is a Canadian mother of both two- and four-leggeds, and  hopes to have safe housing soon, where she can recover enough to become a storyteller who inspires people to do the right thing simply because they can. Linda blogs at Linda Sepp about her urgent need for help in finding appropriately safe housing in central Ontario, Canada.

Michael Walkup is a practicing attorney with more than 25 years experience in disability law. In 2001, he became disabled due to Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Syndrome. He now provides a service to advise clients with potential disability claims who have MCS, CFS and/or FMS. As these programs and law are usually federal, he is able to practice in all 50 states and, therefore, represent clients regardless of location. Michael is a long time Sustaining Member of the National Organization for Social Security Claimants’ Representatives, the only national body for disability representatives. He is also certified as a Federal Trial Lawyer and is admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veteran’s Claims. Michael would welcome the opportunity to possibly help with disability claims. For more information, visit his website MCS Legal Help at walkuplaw.com. Contact info: email MJWalkup@Amertech.net or call 866-880-4878.

Keith Carlson, aka Nurse Keith, blogs at Digital Doorway, a digital venue for creative expression, nursing adventures, reflections on healthcare, thoughtful reverie, thoughtless repose, and other flotsam and jetsam. In 2006, Digital Doorway was listed as one of the Best Literary Medical Weblogs. Keith is a forty-something Registered Nurse, happily married since 1989, with a wonderful, dynamic wife, Mary, and a creative, compassionate, and loving son in his mid-twenties. Originally interested in pursuing a career in the visual arts, Keith’s disposition led him to a life in healthcare and service, for better or worse, as well as a mid-life career as a writer and blogger. His life’s goal is to live a simple, community- and service-oriented existence in Central America with his lovely wife, some goats, some dogs, good friends, good wine, an organic garden, and a pile of books (and a laptop with a fast Internet connection, of course!)  “Living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS),” he writes, “we are consistently challenged to function in a world where vaporized chemicals and fragrances fill the air. In stores, at work, in medical offices and supermarkets, we are constantly bombarded with drifting clouds of toxins that cause us a variety of symptoms, some of which are irritating and others which are potentially debilitating, at least temporarily.” Keith and Mary are currently living full-time in their new RV, traveling the highways and byways of America, visiting intentional communities, and bringing Laughter Yoga and the benefits of health and wellness coaching to new and old friends along the way. Read all about it at Mary and Keith’s Excellent Adventure.

Amy Ludwigson blogs at Pure Habitat Design and is an interior designer and indoor environmental consultant who specializes in creating spaces that are healing, renewing and inspiring. Her travels throughout the world to study spirituality, design and alternative medicine have led her to be able to take a multi-dimensional approach that looks at indoor environments from various perspectives. Having graduated from North Park University, magnum cum laude and Harrington College of Design with honors, she went on to pursue her passion for interiors to be trained as an indoor environmental consultant with the International Institute for Bau-Biologie. Amy has lived with multiple chemical sensitivities and electromagnetic sensitivities and has studied and worked extensively for the past ten years to understand all the elements that go into creating a healthy space from indoor air quality testing, and electromagnetic field analysis to space and clutter clearing. She is based in Chicago and is available for design work and consultations world wide.

Bobby McClintock contributes to The Canary Report with commentary on health and wellness issues in Hawaii. She’s founder of the Respiratory and Environmental Disabilities Association of Hawaii, an active clearinghouse for information, which Bobby disseminates through an email list serve. She started the association in the late 1990s when giving testimony at the Hawaii State Legislature against water fluoridation and genetically engineered foods. Bobby first became ill with chemical sensitivities in 1985 after she underwent a breast implant following mastectomy for breast cancer. After a series of misdiagnoses due to the ignorance of her doctors about the problems of implants and the symptoms of chemical sensitivity, Bobby started combing the Internet for answers and discovered her symptoms were consistent with Environmental Illness. In 1989, she found a knowledgeable doctor who properly diagnosed her as having Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. By then disabled, she went through the grievance process with her employer United Airlines, only to have the company abandon her case in 1995. Bobby lives on Oahu with her husband and is a vocal activist for clean, safe air, water and food. “I swam every day, biked everywhere and was a ballet dancer all my life,” she says. “This illness took it all away and it was completely avoidable. So, watch out world, as long as I have a mouth, and boy is it a big one, you won’t shut me up!” (Photo credit)

Kimberly Shaw blogs at Adventurous Canary and is an author, educator, filmmaker, natural health consultant and lifelong student. She’s currently making a film documentary about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity with the working title Environmentally Not Safe. She was diagnosed with MCS in 1995. Kimberly graduated from Clayton College with highest honors in 2004, earning a Bachelors of Science in Natural Health. She is currently working on her final year toward a Master of Science in Natural Health, focusing on Nutrition, Herbal Medicine, Homeopathy, Mind/Body Healing and other alternative health practices. Convinced that the human body absorbs at least 60% of what is put on the skin, Kimberly also creates her own organic skin care products. She shares on The Canary Report her passion for organic food, easy-to-make recipes, herbs, personal care products, and the enjoyment of everyday life in the midst of allergies and sensitivities. Her many travels led her husband to give her the nickname Adventurous Canary. She lives in Sedona, Arizona.

Franny Armstrong is a writer of “paranormal romantic suspense” novels filled with private investigators, police, and even Royal Canadian Mounted Police who use their amazing psychic abilities to catch the villains. Franny also uses her technical and journalistic skills to create helpful, upbeat stories and articles to enlighten and motivate people. Franny became ill with recurrent sinus infections, coughing fits, fatigue, and disorientation in the mid-1990s, and after pursuing a diagnosis from allergists, was told by one years later, after he found no sign of allergies, that the reason for her ailments was sensitivities to chemicals. Having to quit work, stay at home, and give up socializing, shopping, and just about everything else was devastating, but Franny found one way to come out on top: she became a writer. “Living with MCS is a battle,” she says, “but if you never give up, you’ll win the war!” Franny will share at The Canary Report her life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and other adventures.