In talking with people, David is often asked if he thinks that his sensitivities were caused by exposure to chemicals in the automotive industry. Here’s what David remembers.

“My first memorable experience of being affected by scented products occurred in my childhood. This story has become of topic of discussion at many family gatherings as this is the only time that my older sister, Darlene, ever got mad at me.

I was around 4 years old when my teenage sister, Darlene, decided that it would be fun to use me as a mannequin and practice her makeup application techniques. I vividly recall sitting on the edge of the bed as she sat in a chair in front of me, gobbing on the makeup. It was no big deal, we were just having fun. However, not long into the process, I started to get really fidgety, frustrated and felt an intense desire to run off which is exactly what I did. As I was running for the door, Darlene removed her sandal and chucked it right at me, missing me by inches. Obviously the whole situation had been bothering her as well.

I locked myself in the washroom, frantically scrubbing the crap off my face. My first “lose it” situation. I was acting like a brat out of control. But, so in fact, had my supposedly grown-up sister.

Darlene has always been disturbed by this situation because as I previously stated, she never gets angry like this, especially with me. It was actually many years later that we realized that we were both reacting to the chemicals in the makeup. And that’s when it all began!!!!!”