After reading the newspaper’s recent article on PFAS (“PFAS exposure leaves Maine people wondering: What is it doing to us?” May 14), I was compelled to respond.

My family has been unknowingly living on and cultivating contaminated land for 30 years. My father died six years ago after an extended debilitating illness. Among his diagnoses were colon and prostate cancers. My mother is now terminally ill. She has end-stage chronic kidney disease and multiple system atrophy, which falls under the auspices of Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s has been linked to environmental exposures.

My blood, and that of my mother, shows unacceptable levels of PFOS, the forever chemical directly linked to the paper industry. Our blood and our soils correlate.

As for me, I left the workforce eight years ago to care for my parents. I struggle with autoimmune dysfunction and have been diagnosed with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Although my liver enzymes and thyroid function are within the normal range, both liver and thyroid appear red on thermographic scans, red signifying inflammation. Inflammation being a red flag for disease.

For my family, it’s not a matter of wonder. PFAS contamination is and has been creating a health crisis with catastrophic outcomes. It’s time Mainers begin to connect the dots between illness and causation: long-term poisoning.

Holly Dickinson Amidon
Windham