A Florida family realized their worst nightmare as an improper termite control fumigation by a Terminix subcontractor left their 10-year-old son with serious brain damage, according to CNN.
Peyton McCaughey’s family planned to have the house fumigated during the weekend of August 14 by Sunland Pest Control Services, which Terminex contracted for the job. The family left their home for the weekend while their house was being treated. The family was told it was safe to return on August 16, just two days later.
By Monday morning, every family member in the house had fallen ill. According to Peyton’s uncle, Ed Gribben, everyone was vomiting. Eventually, the symptoms subsided in the family members, all except for Peyton.
“He was… eyes rolling, legs weren’t working,” says Gribben, recalling his nephew’s status after they returned to their home. “He couldn’t hold himself up.”
With Peyton having issues standing and speaking, the family took him to a local clinic, where a doctor diagnosed him with possible poisoning from fumigation. It is thought that Peyton has lost about 90% of his motor skills, and no longer has control over his left arm and leg.
“He’s got his personality; he will still smile and still laugh,” Gribben says. “But he can’t get the words out that he want to say and can’t move the way he wants to move, and frustration sets in.”
The family is looking to open up a lawsuit against both Terminex termite control and Sunland Pest Control Services. Sources also say that investigations are being opened by the Department of Justice and the Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services.
To help pay for medical and court expenses, the family has set up a Kickstarter where they are accepting donations for Peyton. Since the creation of the page on September 1, the family has raised more than $68,000 dollars of their $100,000 goal.