Eight-Year-Old Girl Nearly Dies After Living In A Mold-Infested House

The family of an eight-year-old girl has opened up about how she almost died from a throat infection while living in a house infested with dangerous amounts of mold.

The victim, Sienna Santiago, was staying at a house on Tiwi Island in Australia when she contracted the infection that left her with lifelong disabilities. The house was provided to Sienna’s father, Stephen Thomson, by the Northern Territory Police when he took up a role with the local police department in 2017, reported News.Com.

According to Thompson, he had repeatedly reported the issue of mold to police officials in the region for two years. In March 2019, Sienna felt ill after the fungus attacked her body. She spent 11 days in ICU followed by five weeks at Royal Darwin Hospital and months in rehab.

"Her vital organs shut down, she came out of there [surgery] two hours later on full life support. I used to cry myself to sleep every day, absolutely heartbroken," Thomson was quoted by Yahoo News.

"The specialist who saw her said she was the unluckiest girl in the world," Thomson added. "The epiglottis [lid that prevents food entering the lungs] was swollen and almost closed up completely. All around the epiglottis was a grey-green brown fluff, like decaying flesh. It absolutely stunk. You gagged when she breathed," he said.

Though she survived, Sienna suffered disabilities that left her unable to move the left side of her face. She can't blink her left eye and has a reduced feeling in her right toes. She now lives with her family in New Zealand.

According to Thompson, his complaint about the house was constantly ignored by the NT Police. "We’ve had no compensation from NT Police, and they have never admitted that they failed us by ignoring our calls for help," Thomson said.

However, after the details of the incident came to light this May, NT WorkSafe launched an investigation. According to NT WorkSafe, the allegation was that "the issue of mold was reported to NT Police before the child was admitted to hospital" and detailed "the deterioration of the child’s health, including medical opinion confirming the probable link of their illness to mold exposure."

"NT WorkSafe is now reviewing the matter, and it’s appropriate that we leave WorkSafe to complete their inquiries," the NT spokesperson said in a statement. The incident has also been raised with the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.