D2 THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2021
Recommended reading | PULSE OF OREGON
Bend author explores chemicals and chronic illness
BY DAVID JASPER
The Bulletin
Bend resident Joanna
Malaczynski was introduced
to the issue of toxic chemicals
in consumer products during
her career as an attorney doing
antitrust law and work involv-
ing toxins in products.
“I had both a knowledge of
how slow and unmotivated the
industries were (and) the grav-
ity of the problem,” she said.
“But a lot of it was still abstract.
For example, I was familiar
with terms such as neurotoxin,
which are chemicals that are
toxic to the brain and neu-
rological system, but I didn’t
really know what that meant.”
Then she became sick from
chemical exposure herself.
Malaczynski has written a
180-page book on the sub-
ject titled “Silent Winter: Our
Chemical World and Chronic
Illness.” Published in March
by Algora Publishing, “Silent
Winter” explores the link be-
tween toxic chemicals in our
environment and asthma, can-
cer, depression, chronic fatigue,
dementia and other illnesses,
many of which are often as-
cribed to people’s lifestyles or
genes.
According to a 2016 sur-
vey published in the Journal
of Occupational and Environ-
mental Medicine, more than
25% of people report chemical
sensitivity, and 12.8% of people
are formally diagnosed with
multiple chemical sensitivities.
“There’s definitely a substan-
tial amount of people that are
sensitive,” she said. “It’s a huge
problem,” and one that doesn’t
get much attention in the
wider world.
An ardent swimmer,
Malaczynski’s chemical sensi-
tivity was triggered by swim-
ming in urban bodies of wa-
ter, including the Willamette
and Columbia rivers when she
lived in Portland prior to mov-
ing to Bend in 2017.
“I’ve spent a lot of time
swimming in … urban waters,
even though I knew that they
have some issues. I just really
love the water and kind of
looked the other way and jus-
tified things, as we kind of all
do,” she said.
Submitted images
Oregon Superfund sites in
the region include Portland
Harbor, Scappoose Bay and
Columbia Slough. The waters
can have agriculture run off,
the toxic compound dioxin
and polychlorinated biphe-
nyl (PCB), a toxic, manmade
chemical banned in 1979.
These long-lived chemicals
can live on in silt, which can be
churned up by, say, a swim-
mer entering the water, or
boats, whose diesel fuels
can also pollute the water.
Malaczynski developed
headaches, exhaustion that
caused her to sleep up to
16 hours a day, as well as flu
symptoms.
She writes in “Silent Win-
ter”: “Flu-like symptoms re-
sulting from chemical expo-
sure are well-known to the
industry. For example, em-
ployees who worked with toxic
PFAS chemicals at DuPont
referred to having the ‘Teflon
flu.’ Fatigue, joint/muscle pain,
cough and fever are known to
be caused by ‘metal fume fever’
in industrial workers. Occu-
pational exposure to formal-
dehyde is known to induce
flu-like symptoms. A flu-like
epidemic has been induced
in workers exposed to vi-
nyl-based plastic fumes.
The list goes on.”
Doctors tested her
for parasites, Lyme dis-
ease and various infections .
Malaczynski found little help
from conventional medicine.
“It’s just not a problem they
understand,” she said, adding
that she found more efficacy
in acupuncture and Chinese
medicine.
“We are, all of us, exposed all
the time,” she said. “Sometimes
we feel sick and we don’t know
why. … We have so many ex-
posures that it’s hard to even
tell what’s going on unless
you’re kind of a detective and
sleuth around. Microplastics,
yes, are a huge problem. Some
studies show that we’re ingest-
ing on average a credit card’s
worth on a weekly basis.”
But microplastics are just
one example of enduring
toxins in our environment,
Malaczynski said. Long-lasting
fragrances can cause conges-
tion problems for our kidneys,
liver and heart, she said.
“We’re also taking in chem-
icals that are very persistent,
meaning they’re very hard to
break down,” she said. “The
stuff in fragrance — that really
strong fragrance that seems to
last and last — it lasts because
it’s comprised of chemicals
that are added to the fragrance.
Those chemicals get in our
bodies and are also very hard
to get rid of.”
Malaczynski’s chemical sen-
sitivity endures, her body un-
able to process toxins at the
rate a healthy person’s would,
she said.
“They affect me much more
quickly and much more pro-
foundly,” she said. “I kind of
have to live in a world of avoid-
ance.”
“Silent Winter” is available
directly from Algora Publish-
ing, as well as from Amazon.
com.
Reporter: 541-383-0349,
djasper@bendbulletin.com
Assisted living residents and staff are
coming out of difficult pandemic stretch
BY SAM WILMES
APG Media
As COVID-19 restrictions are phased out, those who
live and work in assisted living facilities say they are
experiencing better days following a trying 15 months
that have inflicted disproportionate physical and mental
health challenges on their communities.
For Joe Skodje, resident of Faribault Senior Living in
Faribault, Minnesota, who turned 100 in March, those
impacts included the loss of in-person visits with his son.
He said it’s been difficult without that usual connection
and support, but as more residents have received vaccine
doses and cases continue dropping, those visits have
resumed, initially by appointment only, a format that has
since been replaced with unlimited visits while wearing
masks.
“It’s great,” Skodje noted of
being able to see his son again
following the prolonged peri-
ods of isolation .
Fellow Faribault Senior
Living resident Lucy Meshke
is also seeing better days.
Meshke, who has a son and
two daughters who sometimes
visit, now goes shopping with
her family, moments she cher-
ishes.
“I really get kind of lone-
some without anyone coming,”
she said.
For Steve Friederich, exec-
utive director of Valleyview
of Owatonna in Owatonna,
Minnesota, it has been good
to have a more open dining
following COVID-19 restric-
tions that necessitated meal
deliveries to individual rooms.
He noted the restrictions had
been difficult for everyone at
the facility, which specializes in
helping those who are low-in-
come and have mental health
challenges. Friederich said that
toll was especially felt for resi-
dents whose families played a
major role in their lives. Now,
Valleyview staff notice resi-
dents laughing more again and
having better days. Also, there
were no COVID-19 breakouts
at the facility during the pan-
demic.
“We are proud of our staff
and of our residents,” Fried-
erich said.
Faribault Senior Living resi-
dent Sharon Cruikshank noted
she is now going to restaurants
and enjoys doing so without
having to quarantine after-
ward.
“I’m glad that people can
come and visit me,” she said.
Those sentiments are shared
by Faribault Senior Living
Director of Health Services
Candice Ahlman. Both her
and Executive Director Sarah
Valentyn said they are already
seeing physical health improv-
ing for residents who were
previously declining earlier in
the pandemic.
“You can see their smiles in
their eyes,” Ahlman said, “even
behind a mask.”
Senior Living staff:
Remaining COVID-19
restrictions should end
Valentyn and Ahlman were
forced to immediately adjust
following the onset of the pan-
demic. Staff started wearing
personal protective equipment
and masks, and stringent visi-
tor requirements were imple-
mented to meet Minnesota
Department of Health and
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention guidelines.
From March to May of 2020,
seven residents died, a num-
ber Valentyn and Ahlman said
was due to the mental toll of
the pandemic and associated
restrictions.
Staff also felt that stress.
Some days led to feelings of
anger and visible emotion
due to the situation. Many
residents left the facility and
moved in with their families
to avoid prolonged periods of
isolation, and some staff left
due to the toll of the pandemic.
Ahlman added that some resi-
dents compared isolation, with
no social activities and eating
alone in their rooms, to being
Sam Wilmes/APG Media
Sharon Cruikshank, from left, Lucy Meshke and Joe Skodje are three
assisted living facility residents who say the phasing out of COVID-19
restrictions is having beneficial impacts on their mental health.
Valleyview of Owatonna/Submitted
Staff and residents at Valleyview of Owatonna in Minnesota are now
able to interact more with each other due to restrictions being lifted as
more Americans become vaccinated and cases continue dropping.
in a prison. Many reportedly
began taking depression and
anxiety medications.
“They didn’t want to live like
that,” Valentyn said. “It took an
emotional roller coaster on ev-
erybody. There was a lot of an-
ger; there was a lot of crying.”
Those comments were
backed by a September article
in AARP. According to the ar-
ticle, isolation and loneliness
are associated with a 50% in-
creased chance of developing
dementia, 32% spike in strokes
and a nearly fourfold increased
chance of death among heart
failure patients.
Even with the improved sit-
uation, however, Ahlman said
residents are still expressing
frustration . They were excited
to be vaccinated to protect
themselves against the dis-
ease and not have to wear face
masks anymore . Yet they still
must do so within the facility
in most circumstances when
outside of their rooms to com-
ply with sometimes contra-
dicting MDH and CDC guide-
lines — even though masking
requirements have been elimi-
nated in many other settings.
Valentyn wants the mask
mandate to end for residents
and for staff to no longer need
to wear goggles and masks.
Ahlman and Valentyn say
the mental toll the pandemic
and associated restrictions
placed on residents leave
them with mixed feelings on
whether the state and fed-
eral restrictions had a posi-
tive net impact on people who
were living in assisted living
facilities. To Ahlman, the re-
strictions were worth it from
a nursing standpoint to pre-
vent COVID-19 outbreaks but
didn’t need to last as long as
they have. She did not support
the banning of visitors to as-
sisted living facilities. To her,
as someone tasked with ensur-
ing patient rights, the decision
to ban visits stripped human
rights from residents who had
earned the right to have a say
in their lives.
To Valentyn, state and fed-
eral guidelines could have
been “looser” and taken fur-
ther into account the need for
residents to socialize.
“That socialization piece
of it for me was really hard
to accept,” she said. “ And the
depression that I saw — the
residents moving out and
people passing away just from
depression.”
Dissipating anxiety
Restrictions began lifting
at Faribault Senior Living in
January. The dining room was
opened once again early this
year, and residents restarted
activities while wearing masks.
The final round of vaccina-
tions for residents came in
March. Since then, guidelines
have loosened to allow resi-
dents to participate in activi-
ties away from campus with-
out having to quarantine for
two weeks. In one instance,
a resident was able to see her
great-grandchild, a four-gen-
eration photo made possible
by the loosening of restric-
tions.
Now, even residents who are
initially hesitant to leave the
facility feel more comfortable.
The frustration some residents
and families initially shared
over COVID-19 restrictions
has dissipated. Ahlman noted
the facility has received letters,
emails and personal thank-
yous from residents on pro-
tecting them during the pan-
demic. Faribault Senior Living
LLC has reportedly not lost
any residents to COVID-19
and only had a few cases.
“You can see that … anxi-
ety of, ‘I might lose my life if
I leave,’ has definitely dimin-
ished,” Ahlman said.