By Kim Goldberg

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) can dramatically alter the course of a person’s life, as well as the lives of everyone close to that person. Given the proliferation of wireless technologies and other artificial sources of electromagnetic radiation, a life with EHS can impact everything from marriage and employment, to pursuits as ordinary as shopping, going to the library, or taking in a movie. 

In the words of one electrosensitive person I interviewed: “It’s like being allergic to society.” 

Below are some of the stories I have been gathering for my forthcoming book REFUGIUM: Wi-Fi Exiles and the Coming Electroplague.  

More stories will be appearing on this page, so do check back!

By profiling these people’s lives, I hope to put a human face on this very real medical condition that is currently being ignored or denied by too many doctors and governments. 

In reality, Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity is poised to become one of the major public health issues of the 21^st century. European researchers forecast that 50% of the population will be electrosensitive by 2017. Read their research here.

These are stories of survivors—people facing enormous challenges in their daily lives and yet somehow surmounting those challenges through ingenuity, courage, and resolve. They have each found or created some sort of refugium in their lives, some kind of safe zone in which they can buffer themselves from the ubiquitous toxin of artificially generated electromagnetic radiation that our world is now awash in. 

Their stories give us a glimpse of the future we may all be hurtling toward. 

Bruce Evans is man on a mission. And he is looking for other people with Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity to join him in creating an EHS refuge in southeast Australia, on land outside of Wangaratta, Victoria in the King Valley.The land is available for occupancy right now for anyone who can come with a van, tent or caravan.… Read the rest of the story here. 

Steve Weller: Australian Steve Weller was 32 years old when he first determined in 2001 that he was sensitive to wireless radiation. He had used computers his entire adult life. He also worked in the Internet and Telecommunications industry, and describes himself as an early adopter of technology… Read the rest of the story here.

George Parker: George Parker served in the Australian Army for 21 years, from 1959-1980, working in worldwide communications within the Corps of Signals. But it was his one-year tour of duty in South Vietnam 45 years ago that changed his life forever. During that tour, George received much greater and more constant exposure to radio frequency microwaves from the various radio transmitters… Read the rest of his story here.

Gary Duncan: Twenty years ago, Colorado native Gary Duncan was at the peak of his career as a professional builder, cabinet-maker, and architectural designer. But the same career that had rewarded him so well was about to take it all away. Gary plunged into a mysterious state of complete medical disability, which he was unable to explain… Read the rest of the story here.

Lucy Sanford: For 25 years, Lucy Sanford was a top-selling real estate agent in Toronto’s west end. Not surprisingly, her busy life and successful career were filled with all manner of wireless devices. In addition to her cell phone and nearby cell antennas at her office, there were no less than 20 cell antennas on the roof of her residence… Read the rest of the story here. 

Heidi Collins: At age 65, Heidi Collins has slept in her car nearly every night for the past twelve years. This is the only way she has found to escape the excruciating pain and inflammation caused by wireless transmissions from cell towers and from the wireless devices of her neighbours… Read the rest of the story here. (Temporarily unavailable)

Tyler Hoffmann: Eight-year-old Tyler Hoffmann has energy to burn. And his backyard trampoline, bike, basketball, and hockey stick each get a thorough workout on the afternoon I visit him at his grandmother’s home near Victoria, BC.  But in April 2012, a different story was unfolding. Tyler began coming home from Sangster Elementary School… Read the rest of the story here.

Jordan Weiss: With sketchpad in hand, Jordan Weiss walks out his back door and perches on a rocky bluff overlooking the Juan de Fuca Strait and the forested shores of the Olympic Peninsula beyond. The only sound as he works is the occasional rustle of dry grass and the shushing of his pencil across the pad… Read the rest of the story here.

Dar Churcher: In 1992, Victoria artist Dar Churcher was poised to expand her successful art career into the international arena when she was stricken with a mysterious ailment. Her worsening symptoms included fatigue, insomnia, extreme headaches, eye pain, and muscular weakness that at times caused her to collapse on the ground with paralyzed legs… Read the rest of the story here.

Laurie Corbeil: Laurie Corbeil has worked as a cleaning person in private homes and industrial settings for most of her life. But now, due to her electrosensitivity, she works just two days a week for one client who allows her to shut off all wireless devices while she is there… Read the rest of the story here.

(© Kim Goldberg. All rights reserved.)