A Builder Got Mold Sick in His Own RV. Here's What Happened Next

What happens when the person who builds healthy homes for a living becomes the one who desperately needs one? In this episode, Ashley sits down with Brent Little, a thirty-year construction veteran and founder of Pinehaven Healthy Homes in McCall, Idaho, for one of the most honest and human conversations this podcast has ever had. Brent was a high-capacity, driven builder who had been exposed to mold on job sites for decades without incident, until a brand new RV became the straw that broke the camel's back, and both he and his wife found themselves navigating one of the most isolating and misunderstood illnesses of our time. Brent walks through the full arc of what happened, from the early neurological symptoms he thought might be brain cancer, to the emotional dysregulation that had them considering psychiatric intervention for his wife, to the long and expensive road through functional medicine that led nowhere until he found Dr. Eric Dorninger and Lauren Lowenstein of the Biotoxin Lady community. He also talks candidly about what it is like to be a man going through chronic illness in an industry built on toughness, how CIRS has shifted his entire business model toward natural and low-toxicity materials, and why he now sees this experience as something that was given to him rather than something that happened to him. This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like they were doing everything right and still got knocked flat. It is also for every builder, tradesperson, and contractor who has never connected the dots between the materials they work with every day and the way their body feels. Brent's story is a reminder that the healthy home conversation belongs to everyone, not just the people building from scratch. THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: CIRS cluster symptoms and VCS test: https://boards.com/a/zIJLT.iMxnzB HLA haplotype testing: https://www.testing.com/tests/hla-tes... Lauren Lowenstein, The Biotoxin Lady and her private CIRS community: thebiotoxinlady.com Cholestyramine and Welchol binder protocol: https://www.survivingmold.com/docs/12... Silicosis and respiratory health risks in the trades: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles... CONNECT WITH ASHLEY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakeningsp... Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeningspac... Youtube:    / @awakeningspaces   Website: https://awakeningspaces.com/ Ashley helps you renovate and build healthier homes to prevent future health issues from arising from your environment. Whether you’re searching for a new home, assessing concerns with your current one, or embarking on a renovation or new build, Awakening Spaces can guide you every step of the way. Ashley brings her background in Building Biology and Building Science and years of hands-on experience helping families build and renovate homes to prevent mold, chemical exposure, and EMFs in their living spaces. If you’re looking to build or renovate a new home, Ashley has courses to empower and one on one offerings to guide you through the whole process so you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy the process again! Curious about how we can help with your project? Explore our offerings here: https://awakeningspaces.com/offerings CONNECT WITH GUEST Instagram:   / pinehavenhealthyhomes   Website: https://pinehavenhealthyhomes.com/ Brent Little is a custom home builder based in McCall, Idaho and the founder of Pine Haven Healthy Homes. He has been in the trades since he was 18, studied Construction Management at Ohio State University, and has spent his career building in one of the most demanding environments in the country, a mountain ski town with high snow loads and complex site conditions that require serious technical skill to navigate. Two years ago, everything changed. Brent was hit with environmental illness that put him out of commission for over a year. The experience cracked open a whole new understanding of how the homes we build directly affect the health of the people living inside them, and it redirected his passion and his practice toward healthy building. Today Brent brings that hard-won personal experience together with decades of technical expertise to build homes that are as healthy as they are beautiful. Outside of work, he loves the outdoors, was a sponsored backcountry snowmobiler, and is in the process of adopting his eight-year-old son alongside his wife. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT If you found this episode valuable, share it with a friend and leave us a rating/review! Thank you for listening ✨