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| Conrad & Grandpa Moore fishing off of Catalina Island |
I'm 32 years old now and fully recovered from Myocarditis years ago, but a cloud of uncertainty has followed me since I was diagnosed with Myocarditis at the age of 17. I didn't have the foggiest notion as to what caused my Myocarditis. I talked to many doctors, even some overseas, but it was a rare disease and hard to pinpoint the cause. Maybe it was my genetics causing my immune system to go haywire after catching mononucleosis? I thought it could be a crazy reaction from a bee sting, but I had been stung by bees before without any serious issue so it couldn't be that right? Maybe it was just horrible luck? I never knew, and just lived everyday like it could really be my last.... until my aunt sent me a life changing text message just about a month ago.
My aunt lives in the city of Devore, and she recently attended a city meeting. At that meeting was an arborist that informed people that he was going to be removing Ailanthus altissima from the city as it can cause Myocarditis. Well, my aunt Carrie texted me right away to share that news because myocarditis & plants are two very important things to me. I called her to confirm what she sent me was true and started searching away for more information on the internet. I love plants, but never considered that one had caused me so much harm without me knowing. There didn't seem to be much information about this at all! I only found three good articles that linked the connection between exposure of the sap from Ailanthus altissma & Myocarditis. I contacted Dr. Leslie Cooper that same day to let him know that I may have finally made some kind of connection as to what caused my Myocarditis. Dr. Leslie Cooper had not heard of this connection either and assured me he will keep an eye out for similar cases.
For a plant called The Tree of Heaven, you'd think it wouldn't need to be brought to light! Well, I'm here to try and clear the fog surrounding this plant. So far, I only have a few research articles to follow up on. I do have that arborists phone number, and I hope to get an interview for a new blog post! Before that though, I'll finish sharing my personal story that connects Ailanthus altissima & Myocarditis.
At the age of 17 I was beginning to study horticulture and was camping on Catalina Island just before I got sick. Going around trying to identify leaves was a natural thing for me to do & Ailanthus altissima is an invasive plant that grows all over Catalina Island & southern California. I was a horticultural novice at the time and probably ripped off a piece of that plant for dissection without a second thought. Another thing to keep in mind is that I was working construction at the time and usually had at least a couple open cuts on my hands.
At the age of 19 I was studying for my B.S. in botany & collecting many plant samples. I was diagnosed with viral pancreatitis, as a cause could not be determined. I can easily see myself collecting one sample of that plant, studying its characteristics, realizing it's a horrible invasive species, & then never wanting to touch it again. The students were all warned of poison oak, stinging nettle, and poison hemlock...but never Ailanthus altissima.
Now, I manage a nursery and touch many species of plants daily. In my days of gardening, I like to tell stories of plants that were very difficult to remove, like the Schinus molle at my parents' house that required a jackhammer to get rid of all the roots. I really feel like I would remember having to remove or even touch an Ailanthus altissima. My wife remembers pointing out one of those trees at the San Diego botanic garden recently, & my response was "that's the tree of heaven, but in reality, it's one hell of a weed." I have a lot of horrible plant jokes.
It's highly plausible that the only time I ever touched Ailanthus altissima was at the age of 17 while camping on Catalina Island, and the age of 19 while studying plants at the Mt.SAC Wildlife Sanctuary. I'm always surprised when people are not aware of the dangers of Euphorbia sap, and now I will be sure to spread awareness of the sap from Ailanthus altissima. I live in the plant world & have never heard of this plant being toxic; just lots of people asking how to kill it because it grows like a weed.
After all these years worrying about my heart giving up at any moment, worrying about the chance of passing on some genetic issue to my son, worrying about a bee sting making me sick for months... all I had to do was not touch the Tree of Heaven and I would be just fine. I hope with all my heart to change the common name of this plant to the 'Tree From Hell' because that's what it put me and my family through. I believe raising awareness about the toxicity of this plant will prevent future cases of Myocarditis and that's what I hope to do.