Candice Hall

From Brain Fog to Clarity and Hope

For years, I ran a successful functional medicine clinic, helping patients reverse chronic illness. Life was full, rewarding — and very busy. Then everything began to unravel at home.

It started with my son. Out of nowhere, he developed deep depression and suicidal thoughts. He was just in eighth grade. Eventually, he was diagnosed with PANDAS. I knew it was a neurological condition in which a strep infection triggers sudden behavioral or cognitive problems.

What I didn’t know is that it’s often triggered by the same mold toxins that cause many cases of Alzheimer’s.

Soon after, my five-year-old daughter also tested positive for PANDAS, often exhibiting bizarre behaviors — hiding hair, trash, and more.

Then, right in the middle of this storm, I began noticing something else: I couldn’t remember people’s names.

I chalked it up to stress and aging. But then came a moment I’ll never forget.

I brought our family chef to a holiday party and couldn’t introduce her to people I’d known for 15 years. Their names were just … gone.

The realization hit me hard — telltale early signs of cognitive decline. As a healthcare professional, I was being trained in the Bredesen protocol for reversing Alzheimer’s. And ironically, I began to see my own symptoms in the very checklist I was giving to my patients.

A brain scan confirmed it. I had signs of biotoxin exposure — specifically, mold. So did my husband, joint ng pains. And yet, multiple mold inspectors told us our home was clean. It wasn’t until we brought in a mold specialist from Los Angeles that we discovered black mold hidden behind our dryer and throughout the HVAC system.

That was the missing piece. We moved out immediately. My son had already been receiving costly immunoglobulin treatments for his PANDAS, which brought temporary relief. But after leaving the moldy house, he no longer needed them. He recovered fully. My husband’s pain vanished. My daughter improved. And, so did I.

But my recovery was slower because, as I later discovered, I had double exposure — mold at home and mold in my office. It took me years to fully heal. I suffered from extreme fatigue, hearing loss, numbness, joint pain, and memory issues. But by applying the right detox protocols, and learning from the top mold specialists, I finally got my life back.

Today, my brain is 100%. My son is thriving at 22. My husband is well. My daughter is joyful. Our family found healing through knowledge, persistence, and the guidance of the Alzheimer’s recovery community.

I now know how biotoxins like mold can be powerful triggers — not just for PANDAS, but for cognitive decline and even Alzheimer’s. I believe I’m alive and well today because I took early signs seriously and found the right people at the right time.

I am both proud and happy to declare that I’m an Alzheimer’s survivor.