Near Factory Site, Sick Residents Wonder Who Is To Blame
Brendan DeKemper, outside his family’s home in Merrimack, NH.
CREDIT EMILY CORWIN / NHPR
In the last couple years, millions of people across the country have learned their drinking water contains high levels of the contaminants known as perfluorochemicals. These are used to make nonstick things like teflon and pizza boxes. And for those with illnesses that are linked to the contaminant, that knowledge can be helpful — and incredibly frustrating.
Sitting on her porch, Marianne Sylvester’s face looks healthy. But, she says, her face looked different before she got Graves Disease, about 10 years ago. At the time, it all seemed like bad luck. Really really bad luck. “One side effect of graves is Thyroid Eye disease, and it causes your eyes to bulge out,” she said. “And so I lost all self confidence. You can’t look someone in the eye when your eyes are. You feel hideous.”
Sylvester spent four years like this. Ultimately, surgeons had to remove bone from her face and skull to make room for her swollen eye muscles. It wasn’t until spring of this year that she began wondering if it was more than bad luck that caused this disease.