[music playing]
[inaudible tv dialogue]
I'm T'Resa, and I'm a mother.
And I love almost every minute of it.
I'm Jace, and T'Resa is my mom.
I moved out when I was approximately 15 years old.
My relationship with my mom just kind of severed there.
I don't recall a time when there wasn't clutter in the home.
She always smoked in the home, never smoked outside.
I remember mouse droppings.
And you could hear mice underneath the couch.
The fridge was always just disgusting.
I never had a stove- or an oven-cooked meal.
We ate out a lot and had TV dinners.
T'RESA: My house is filled, yes.
But at least a third of the stuff in my house
is for crafting.
But it's what I excel at.
I'm good at what I do.
A lot of people crochet, but they don't make scrubbies.
[music playing]
I make a lot of scrubbies.
They'll clean anything.
You can scrub your dishes, scrub your tub.
You can clean out your fridge.
Anything that needs to be cleaned
can be cleaned with a scrubbie.
They won't scratch anything.
I mean, they're the most wonderful thing there ever was.
[music playing]
It wasn't a good marriage.
He drank.
He stepped out on me.
Girlfriends started calling every night.
And he took my self-esteem from me.
And I just fell to pieces.
[music playing]
T'RESA'S BROTHER: My sister said that there's
many times that she's burned her blankets
and the couch and her bed.
I'm surprised that she hasn't burned down the place.
It's amazing to me that it hasn't.
JACE: If my mom doesn't clean the home,
I will call adult protective services.
It would be very difficult to do, but I would make the call.
T'RESA'S BROTHER: She easily could die.
[music playing]
COREY CHALMERS: This is the first step
to getting your life back.
My name is Corey Chalmers.
I'm an extreme cleaner that specializes
in biohazard and hoarding.
You have all these resources that are here
that can completely get this house back
to a safe and functional condition.
So are you ready to start touching your things
and making those difficult choices?
Yes.
DR. SUZANNE CHABAUD: We've get lots of help here.
COREY CHALMERS: Yes, good answer.
Good answer.
Let's start.
Let's do this.
[music playing]
What we're doing is we're trying to get this door open.
JACE: OK.
COREY CHALMERS: So we're really trying
to work from the top down.
JACE: OK.
COREY CHALMERS: And making decisions.
DR. SUZANNE CHABAUD: I thought it would be a good idea
to get Jace to go in with his mom
and let him really experience what it's like to work
through this with his mother.
COREY CHALMERS: Here is a trash bag.
Here is a box for keep stuff.
We're just showing her items and asking her.
Good luck.
All right.
DR. SUZANNE CHABAUD: Jace wants a mom, face to face.
He doesn't want objects taking the place of him in her life.
All of it's garbage.
Yeah, it is to you!
Nothing in here, completely empty.
Yeah, that's to put my scrubbies in!
JACE: Well, it looks like you have plenty of them.
What about this?
It's for my cat!
JACE: So can I throw it away?
No!
JACE: Can I throw this away?
T'RESA: No!
Keep.
JACE: Why?
Because I give them for gifts!
JACE: You're going to give that to somebody?
Well, that can be wiped off!
That's mouse droppings.
So what?
I've got antibacterial stuff.
Jace got to see firsthand that you just don't get
in and get rid of the stuff.
JACE: I'm done trying, for the moment at least.
Hi.
We're here to help you.
You're not helping anything.
DR. SUZANNE CHABAUD: OK, so I'm going to let him out, OK?
T'RESA: Yeah. Please.
All right.
Don't come back in.
JACE: I probably won't.
I hope they don't make me.
T'RESA: Good.
You was really mean to me.
JACE: I'm sorry.
But us "nicing" you to death is not working.
You need to change.
I hope that we can figure out how to redirect her thoughts
and her thinking, because the thing that I yearn for most
is to just have my mom.
Can you let your son's love for you count?
Look at his face.
He's holding back tears.
He's here 'cause he loves you.
Can't you see the love?
That's why we're here.
T'RESA: I know.
[crying] I want to become my old self again.
And you gotta help me get there, but you
gotta let me do it my way.
DR. SUZANNE CHABAUD: Jace needed to realize that you don't bring
the dump trucks in and clear the house in two days
and there's no pain.
In fact, there's so much pain.
And that's why the house is full.
COREY CHALMERS: T'Resa, we're going to look
through this stuff right now.
And my challenge to you is to look at it through a new set
of eyes-- not the T'Resa that's lived
the last several years, but the new T'Resa
and what she wants for her future.
Try.
Just try.
[music playing]
T'RESA: [coughing]
COREY CHALMERS: She's having such a hard time breathing
and coughing, she can't even get off the couch to open the door.
At this point, we have to find a way in there so we can
get her a breathing treatment.
We've gotta step on all this hoarder hay.
T'RESA: [coughing]
[coughing]
COREY CHALMERS: OK, don't move
[moaning]
COREY CHALMERS: You need your nebulizer.
COREY CHALMERS: You know, she was really struggling.
This is another sign of how this critical house
is going to kill her.
You know, if we weren't here, what would have happened?
She couldn't get to a phone.
She couldn't get to the door.
I don't know how many things she's
going have to go through like this before she realizes
she's gonna die in this house.
Put the cigarette out.
T'RESA: I will. COREY CHALMERS: Now.
T'RESA: I will.
COREY CHALMERS: You can't take a breathing treatment
and have a cigarette.
That's ridiculous.
T'RESA: I know.
COREY CHALMERS: OK, breathe that in.
Come on.
T'RESA: OK.
Sheesh.
T'RESA: Thank you.
COREY CHALMERS: You're welcome.
I'm telling you, if you don't take advantage of this,
this is a death trap for you.
We're throwing out the rescue to you.
And I'm saying, you say, please rescue me from this.
[crying] Please rescue me from this.
OK.
COREY CHALMERS: Will you let us do what
we need to do to rescue you?
[crying] Yes.
OK.
We're gonna get started.
[music playing]
Put the bottom straight back into the grass.
[music playing]
Teresa, everyone here did a lot of work, including you.
You guys ready to see it?
Yes, we are!
JACE: Oh, my goodness.
Oh, my.
Oh, my God.
[music playing]
WOMAN: This is so awesome, T'Resa.
COREY CHALMERS: I could not leave
you on that couch, T'Resa.
You know that.
Oh, Thank you, God and everybody.
[crying]
Are you ready to go see your kitchen?
T'RESA: I am. - All right.
Oh, you guys!
I'm gonna cook you guys something.
[laughing]
DR. SUZANNE CHABAUD: So many children, of course,
wish that they could save their mom or dad's life.
And this time it happened.
Jace stepped up to the plate and said, I want my mom to live.
Oh, my bed!
JACE: I am so happy with the final result.
There has been more growth and healing over the past 24 hours
than there have been in the last 13 years.
T'RESA: I didn't think I'd be thrilled at all,
but I am so thrilled.
I already feel my life coming back.
My heart is just swelling.
Thank you, Corey.
You're welcome.