At the start of the winter season, I saw an article in a health magazine about the dangers of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. The article gave the common symptoms: headaches, dizziness, fatigue, "flu-like" symptoms and recommended having Carbon Monoxide detectors in your home, because Carbon Monoxide can cause brain damage and death.
I checked the article off in my brain, because we had two Carbon Monoxide detectors upstairs, near where we sleep. Good, no worries.
As the winter months wore on, I noticed that my girls were complaining of headaches - one more than usual. I also noticed I was having more headaches and I was extremely fatigued, easily forgetting what I was thinking or doing, and a general malaise about writing and house work. But I chalked all those things up to viruses or winter blues.
About three weeks ago we started to remodel our basement. One night our Carbon Monoxide detector went off. I thought it was strange, and maybe had something to do with remodeling. My hubby told me to set it outside for a while, turn it back on and see if it did it again. That night I sat up until 3 a.m., but it didn't go off a second time.
A few days passed, and the same thing happened - just at night. I went through the whole process again.
It did it a third time - in the exact same manner - about a week later. We couldn't figure out what was wrong, but since it only went off once at night, we thought it was just a malfunctioning unit.
Last night, around midnight, the detector went off again, and this time the second detector also went off on the other side of the house. I knew something wasn't right because my headaches had been constant for three days and my muscles ached so bad I felt like crying. I also could have laid down and taken a nap at any given time, which is unlike me. So at midnight we wrapped the kids up in blankets, pulled them out of their beds, and went to my parents' house.
This morning my husband had the gas service company come in immediately. We discovered the hot water heater had a significant leak - significant enough that he turned the heater off and gave us instructions for airing out the house and what long term symptoms to look for.
The repair man came in and took care of the problem and we left the windows open on the house all afternoon (thankfully it was about 34 degrees here today - and not minus 10!).
After spending the day away from the house, my muscle aches and headache have gotten better. The doctor told us the symptoms could remain for up to 4 days, but hopefully after that, we'll all start to feel better. I'm pretty sure we've been suffering from low level toxins for quite a while - months, even - but it escalated to the point of making us very sick in the past few weeks.
I'm so thankful we had the Carbon Monoxide detectors! I've learned that approximately 400 people die a year from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in America. What surprised me the most was that I thought only furnaces could produce Carbon Monoxide, but this was our water heater! Which means that everyone is at risk.
If you don't have a Carbon Monoxide detector, please get one today. Besides having them near the bedrooms, I now have one near our utility room (which I should have had before). I fully believe it saved our lives.
What about you? Do you know anyone who has ever had a Carbon Monoxide leak? Do you have detectors in your home?
I just want to cry. And hug you. And cry some more.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Jennifer. Nearly crying at the thought of something bad happening to you and your precious family! We have detectors that my husband installed this year.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you figured out what was going on in time! That must have been a scary experience but I'm glad you are all going to be okay.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this reminder. I'm glad you are all well.
ReplyDeleteYikes, girlie! Glad everyone is okay. That's messed up.
ReplyDeleteSO SCARY! We dealt with something VERY similar in Hutchinson many years ago. We purchased a house, and a few months into living there, my headaches returned, and our detectors were going off too. It was the furnace however, and we had to completely replace the whole unit! It was a nightmare~
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you guys were able to get out safely and that everyone is okay! Isn't it funny how we see things months before they happen? Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways!!
Jennifer
I have a friend who called her church on Sunday morning to say she wouldn't be in to conduct the choir because she felt like she had the flu. The person she called was surprised at how incoherent she sounded, so decided to check on her. When she entered the house, the dog was already gone. Thankfully she thought of CO poisoning, and called an ambulance. She spend days recovering, part of the time in a hyperbaric chamber. I'm going to the store tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeletePraise God you guys got out when you did! That's so scary! So glad you're ok.
ReplyDeleteGabrielle, SO thankful you and your family are okay! I knew a missionary couple who lost both their young daughters this way. A heartbreaking experience. God bless you for sharing. So glad you all are feeling better:)
ReplyDeleteJennifer - thank you. :) I can feel your hugs from Canada.
ReplyDeleteLindsay - I'm so happy you have detectors! Thank Mike for me.
Leslie - yes, I'm glad we were able to figure it out, too. I wish we would have had a detector near our utility room - I know we would have discovered it much, much sooner.
Lisa - I hope this reminder encourages people to get out and buy detectors, if they don't have them.
Jessica - I've heard of people's Carbon Monoxide scares, but I didn't think it would happen to us. So thankful for detectors - and God's protection!
Jennifer B. - Yes, in hindsight, so many things make sense. The girls' headaches, my fatigue, one of the boys had rosy cheeks the past couple of days and that's a sign, too. I'm thanking God we're all safe.
Youthchorale (is this Garrett or Holly?) - that's a terribly frightening experience! I'm so happy she had a friend go and check on her. Please don't forget to go to the store tomorrow and buy a detector! I'm so happy our story could prompt someone else to action.
Susan - we're definitely praising God! I'm just sick thinking about how long this was probably going on and the things we've all suffered from it. Thankfully we were able to discover the culprit and we'll be more attentive in the future!
Laura - I'm so sad to hear about the missionary couple you know. Tears come to my eyes at the thought. I'm thankful we were able to get out and keep everyone safe.
I also want to add that when Dave talked to the gas person today, he said that he was reading 5,000 parts of CO per million just outside our water tank - a detector will start to alarm when it reads 50 parts of CO per million, so this was a very serious leak. For some reason it was venting better before we started the remodel in our basement, but whatever we did down there (better insulation is my guess) caused the CO to start coming upstairs. We're thanking God that we are all safe.
How scary! I'm so glad you're all okay! Our fire detectors are also CO detectors.
ReplyDeleteJulie, we also have one that is a dual detector and one that's not. The dual detector was the first to detect the CO. So happy you have them!
DeleteOh my goodness! That is awful, but I'm soooo glad you were able to get it fixed before something terrible happened!
ReplyDeleteSherrinda, the service repair men were able to take care of it very quickly. So thankful they knew what to do.
DeleteOh my, I'm so, so glad you and your family are okay, Gabe!
ReplyDeleteSo am I, Melissa!
DeleteGlad you're okay. What a frightening experience. Checked with my hubby right away - how is our water heater heated? Total electric. Sigh of relief.
ReplyDeleteGood! I discovered that any appliance that burns gas (fireplaces, heaters, cook stoves, water heaters, etc.) can leak Carbon Monoxide. It's a good idea to have a detector if you have any of those things.
DeleteWow! That definitely gets your heart pumping...so scary! But I'm glad you guys are all safe and have the issue fixed.
ReplyDeleteLacie, when I think about how terrible it could have turned out, I shudder! I'm thanking God for His protection.
ReplyDeleteOh, Gabe, thank the good Lord that you thought of getting the two CM detectors!! How shocking that the toxicity was such a slow process and how easily the physical effects could be attributed to other causes, as you said. WOW. What a wake up call! I don't have a CM detector. My neighborhood doesn't have gas lines, so everything runs on electricity. Texas, remember? My water heater's in the garage and the AC is in the attic - again all on electricity. Yet my car and some small power tools that sit in my attached garage run on gasoline, so I guess it's not a bad idea to get one after all. Thanking God for His protection over you and your family!
ReplyDeleteGabrielle, that is terrifying. I'm so glad you and your family are okay. We have an alarm system with a built in CM detector, but it's still something that's on my radar and worries me.
ReplyDeleteHow scary! So glad you're all okay.
ReplyDeleteI just saw something on the news about this after a grandmother and granddaughter died. I thought only a significant leak could do it, but in this case it seemed to be a long time, slow leak, like yours.
My parents did some remodeling last year, and suddenly all their alarms starting going off too. They'd replaced windows and the soffits and that was enough to make them all go off. Turned out it was their water heater too.
We're an all electric house, so I wonder if we'd still be at risk because, surprise surprise, we have a water heater. My honey has one in the hallway anyway.
Started going off. Sheesh. :)
DeleteDonna, it's a scary gas because it's odorless, colorless and tasteless. I'm still feeling pretty crummy today, but I'm hoping things will be better tomorrow and even better the day after. Thanks for stopping by - I've been thinking about you and wondering how the taping went?!?!
ReplyDeleteJohanna, you're right, even though we have detectors, it's always good to keep it on your radar and watch for signs and symptoms. Thanks for your kind words.
Sally, I've heard of stories, too, but never expected to have to deal with it. I wonder how many people have a leak and don't know. I'm encouraging everyone I know to get detectors - and more than one. There should be one on each level, near bedrooms, utility rooms and away from humidity (in bathrooms and kitchens). So happy your parents found the cause in time!