The obstacle is the way — my mold story

I signed up for the Steamboat Stinger half marathon as a way to get my health and fitness back.

I started with Biodesix on 6/1/2017. Within months of living in Steamboat Springs I developed exercise induced asthma. On Christmas day of 2017 I discovered that mold was the cause. It wasn’t just growing in my condo, it was growing in my bed too.

The mold growing in my memory foam mattress topper.

In a few short month I lost 35 pounds but I’ve managed to gain back 15 of those pounds.

A progression of my net 20 pounds of weight loss. (Left) A competition in 2016 just before I moved to Colorado, weighing ~225 lbs. We obviously had our game faces on. (Middle) A picture taken with Biodesix’s CTO around September of 2017 — around 210 lbs. (Right) Hayden Cog Run taken May 4, 2019, weighing 205 lbs. I unfortuntaely don’t have a photo of me weighing 190 lbs.

My issues persisted far longer than the “one week” my doctors said. So I went to National Jewish early in 2019 for tests. We discovered that I had developed asthma. I say developed because I’ve been a lifelong athlete but never experienced breathing issues.

Some pictures from my athletic career. (LEFT) Me to the right of the trophy for winning the 2016 5A Louisiana High School Football State Championship. (RIGHT) a baseball tournament in South Florida many moons ago.

I made three drastic changes to my diet and routine: no sugar, cold showers daily, and sauna at least once per week. Results from the followup tests showed improved lung function. My doctor there said my asthma could resolve itself if I continued what I was doing.