Michelle H. — An Idyllic Childhood, Questions Years Later

Michelle H.'s parents bought their family home east of Lake Arbor and Far Horizons in 1966. They raised five children and more than twenty foster children there. Michelle remembers a childhood spent outdoors. Her father built a room, a treehouse and a sandbox and helped with a school playground and church projects. Digging in the soil was part of ordinary family life. In late 1991, at age 56, Michelle's father was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer. His stomach, part of his esophagus and part of his small intestine were removed. In the summer of 1993, the cancer returned and later spread to his lungs. He died in January 1994. Michelle's mother moved near Standley Lake in 1997 and lived there for approximately 13 years. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2018 and died in 2020. Michelle remembers chronic bloody noses as a child and being diagnosed with migraines at age six. She suspects Rocky Flats contributed to her parents' cancers and wonders whether it played a role in her own health. Those are Michelle's personal questions and beliefs. Her story begins with the childhood she remembers: a large family, a home they loved and years spent outside together.