MCS Disabled Man Seeks Government Grant For Disability Inspired Business

by Gerrard Ashton
(Everett, WA, USA)

My name is Gerrard Ashton. I am disabled and living with MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities), which I developed after exposure to industrial solvents over a period of several years.

My condition makes me extremely sensitive to all kinds of regular household products like fabric softeners, perfumes, hairsprays, cigarette smoke, automobile exhaust, etc.

I get very ill when I come into contact with these items, or am exposed to their fumes or scents. It makes traveling anywhere outside of my home extremely difficult and makes it impossible for me to have a job outside of my house.

I had a very active life before I became ill. I had a job I loved, was newly married, my wife and I just bought our first home in Everett, Washington, I studied Japanese swordsmanship, went to the gym regularly, I had a normal and full social life, things couldn't have been better.

When I started to get sick, developing rashes, headaches, fatigue, joint problems and swollen lymph nodes, I had no idea what could be wrong with me, and certainly never would have guessed that it would mean I would end up disabled.

I was finally diagnosed with MCS after a yearlong journey through the medical system that yielded nothing but frustration. At one point we were terrified by the thought that I might have lymphoma.

After a biopsy was able to confirm that it wasn't cancer causing the enlarged lymph nodes, we were left with the crushing diagnosis of MCS instead. The prognosis was a very lonely and uncomfortable life, and the treatment plan was a long, long road lying ahead of me.

Treatment for MCS includes a strict regimen of detoxifying activities like saunas, cleanses, and special diets, expensive dietary supplements to improve the body's detoxifying ability, (that are not covered by health insurance) and most of all, avoidance of chemicals.

After years of following a treatment plan like this, there is hope that symptoms will improve, but it's not realistic at this point that a person with MCS will recover to the point where prolonged exposures will ever again be possible.

I, however, am a fighter. One of the first things I decided to do to after getting the diagnosis was to read every piece of literature I could get my hands on about the disease, how it works in the body, and how to help the body fight back to heal itself.

The papers I've read by Dr. Martin Pall, Ph.D., about the brain's chemistry and the body's detoxifying process have been very helpful to me and inspired me to believe I can possibly beat this someday.

I became an expert on my own body and my condition. I'd always been interested in health and nutrition, even before MCS was a shadow on my life. I was a strong advocate for organic foods and living a healthy natural lifestyle. Now it's even more than a way of life, it's who I am.

I've been battling this condition for a little over three years now, and I was finally recently awarded Social Security Disability. That did take at least one aspect of uncertainly out of my life, but I have never seen it as a permanent solution. At only 36 years old, I'm not ready to be retired.

I am saving to be able to stock the inventory necessary to launch an Internet nutrition store that will carry organic specialty foods and dietary supplements and provide information and resources for people living with multiple chemical sensitivities.

With the knowledge I've gained through my research and living with this condition, I want to help others with MCS. That's why I am seeking grants for business use that may be available for disabled people with MCS and advocates for natural health. Eventually, I'd like to also continue my education and perhaps pursue a certification as a Holistic Nutritionist.

My website will be a place for people living with this condition to find free information about products I've found helpful, as well as to provide a one-stop shopping resource for products that patients under treatment for MCS often have to scour the internet for.

Getting through the process of appeal after appeal to get approved for Social Security Disability was a minor victory after the last three years had financially crippled us and left me with debt and a poor credit rating.

Most of my detox treatments and nutritional supplements are not covered by insurance. My diet is regimented and completely organic, which adds quite a bit to the grocery bill.

So, in the financial position we're in currently, business loans aren't really an option to assist me with getting a home-based business off the ground, and with my condition and formal education level, home-based business is my only option for a legitimate self-sufficient income.

I am determined to keep fighting and keep recovering until I've created for myself and my wife and our future family a life where we wake up every day and do what we love, help others and live a full, happy and healthy life.

There will most likely always be some limitations to my lifestyle, but having a successful home-based business would provide the financial means to continue my treatment and live our life to the fullest extent possible.

I welcome advice and help from the readers of this website who can assist me with applying from grants for my business and my education. Thank you very much. Gerrard Ashton.