To say that my wife and I almost bought the farm this morning, would be an understatement...  We damn near got the whole ranch!


My wife wakes my up crying around 5:30am saying that she has a severe headache and feels very nauseaus...  I tell her to lie back in bed and relax, while I get up to her some Tylenol.

A little while later ([i]15-20 minutes, maybe more[/i]) she said she was feeling much worse and at that point I began to feel somewhat dizzy and short of breath as well... We decided that I would drive her to the hospital and so while getting dressed, we both about passed out.  At this point, it was everything we could do to get out of the house, and by the time we finally did, neither of us could stand up without nearly passing out instantly.

Well, I realized that we both must have Carbon Monoxide poisioning since we fired up the furnace last night for the first time this year. I knew the signs and symptoms, and we were both poster children for it at this point!

I straggled over to the neighbors at about 6:30am and asked if they could possibly drive us in to the ER, since at this point, there was no way I could...  While they were getting ready, I made a couple more trips back into the house to open every window and door to air the place out, and was severly overcome again...  By the time I got back outside, the neighbors had called the ambulance, because they knew the severity of this ([i]they own a  heating & cooling business[/i]).  The medics immediately put us on full flow 100% O2 with masks, and the hospital kept us both on that for 5 more hours.

A lot of blood work was done, and our CO levels were very high for non-smokers...  I was 14%, while my wife was 10.5%.

The fire department reported the gas levels to still be in excess of 100ppm about 20-30 minutes after the house was opened up for cross ventilation.

Our neighbor is working on my furnace right now, and found the vent pipe to have been 98% clogged!

BTW:  On the way home from the hospital, we stopped and picked up the best Carbon Monoxide detector I could find.

[blue]For those of you that use gas and haven't fired your furnaces yet, please take the time and expense to have a professional check it all out for you first...  I'm paying a bunch to a professional to repair it right now, but could have payed the ultimate price for neglecting the most dangerous appliance in our home![/blue]

As DonR always reminds me... "God protects small children and fools!"

Just say thanks that it wasn't time for Him to punch your ticket.

HOLY S**T!


Most people never wake up!

I've has to do removals on calls like that. Nothing like taking the whole family to the morgue.

You are on lucky.....

How was the ABG?

Sherm

Glad to see your still around.

HOLLY SH!T!  You got to take care of yourself my man....I don't want to have to call you at the emergency room again.  Take care.

What is an ABG..?

With the surgery and now this, you are picking some unluckly numbers Anti.
Glad you are ok, the meets wouldnt be the same without ya.
c-rock

ABG
Arterial Blood Gas

9 Lives
-     Two (3?) surgeries
-   1 Carbon Monoxide poisoning
________________________________

=   6 lives left.

Glad to hear you are OK.

Glad you & your wife are fine!!

Anti, I'm very glad you and your wife made it out ok.

God Bless Texas

[u]Add to that:[/u]
(1) Drowning
(1) Drug OD
(1) Rock Climbing Accident

My tally sheet is actually much closer than I care to think about!

Might be wise to consider a CO detector, too!

Oh yea, the horse needle in the wrist trick...  It hurt like hell!

I knew what to expect on that one though, since they also did it when I OD'd in my teens.

For comfort, they did put my wife and I into an ER room together.  As far as I know, that's generally unheard of.

Glad to hear you and your wife are okay, like Sherm said. CO is a silent killer, most never wake up.

Kuiper

We did pick up a CO detector on the way home from the hospital.

I have to say, this has just been one extremely FUCKED UP year...  What scares me is that we still have 3 months to go yet!

So, what's next...  Locusts, Small Pox, Meteors..?

I think the folks from NY can tell you what's coming next.[:(]

Anti,
Glad to hear the you and your wife are okay.

Jamie

I just realized ([i]while hanging the CO detecor and smashing my finger[/i]) that I forgot to mention that I ran a drywall screw bit through my left index finger on Monday... it left a large gaping hole with flaps of meat barely hanging on around the edges.

Dammit -- I'm now down to 2 lives!  [pissed]

I was talking to Grin&Barrett about that...  If this had been a weekend where we were planning to sleep in__________________________________

I am glad you and your wife are ok!

Hey ARben....I would like to think that absolutely NOTHING is coming up next!!!!

Anti.........Good to hear that you are both OK......thats a f'd up way to go.....most people dont even wake up.....

Thank God the wife had a headache last night, huh???

You had better quit your job and sit home in the bomb shelter for the next 3 months, doesnt sound like youre having a good year.......(what doesnt EVERYONE have a bomb shelter????)Take care Tim and I will talk to you soon...

Damn!  Tim!

If it weren't for bad luck, you'd have no luck at all......


Though the bright side is that you survived it.

Glad you guys are ok, Anti.

Wow! Glad to hear you are OK.  You need to get out and do something safe, [b]go shooting.[/b]  

Now that's scarey!!!
I'm very glad you two made it out alive. I think a few extra prayers are in order for tonight.

ColtShorty

GOA KABA COA JPFO SAF NRA

"I won't be wronged,  I won't be insulted
and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do
these things to other people and I require
the same from them."

What have you done to anger the GODS???!

I was going to say everything happends in 3s but I guess not this time.

You need to STOP everything and just stay home and do NOTHING for a month or so.


BISHOP

Can't do it like that man...  it still leaves me wide open come November 1st.

You guys suppose they rent out living quarters in NORAD..?

HOLI FYKING SHYTE, Anti!!!!!!!!!! glad everyone's ok! ...

Anti, thanks for posting this and bringing it to peoples attention. I work for a natural gas company and I see this often and it is very dangerous. Everyone should get their heaters checked by a qualified person, however if you have to check it yourself you can light a match then quickly blow it out and hold it up to the heater vent. If it pulls the smoke from the match up the vent it's probably ok. Even if you do this buy at least one CO detector, that is the only way to really be safe because the vent can become clogged at any time.

i am [b]VERY[/b] glad that things work out okay.  i think i really would have missed you.  a lot.

That is some scary sh*t! I'm happy you guys are okay. That was a close call!

Every year we have the PG&E guy inspect the furnace before lighting the pilot. He vacuums the innards, checks the vent, etc., all for free.

The October Consumer Reports has a section on CO detectors. There are some good ones available, with the common ones you see at the hardware store being only so-so. It might be worth it to pick up that issue.

Damn, that was close!!! Glad that you and your wife are ok bro.

Tyler

... damn dude!

Glad to see you weren't smothered/poisoned out, hopefully this thread will save a life sometime in the future because you and the little lady were able to emphasize the importance of the odorless, colorless killer:

Carbon Monoxide poisoning / suffocation.

... Thank you for not dying, you survivors you.

I'm glad to hear you're both OK...

Ray Q.

Glad to hear that you and your wife are alright...  I just got back from buying a CO detector out at the old Home Depot...

Damn I hate Home Depot, why can't the good hardware stores be open 24 hours?

TIM,,, BUDDY,,, I FEEL YOUR PAIN!
Several years back I got poisoned myself. It was at work and around 50 of us nearly bought it.
I don't know how I did it, but when they sent us home, (Not the emergency room like it should have been.) I drove myself. When I got home, my wife thought I was in delerium. I was on the floor flopping around like a fish, foaming at the mouth, and eyes watering uncontrollably and I was babbling. My wife though maybe I saw someone die a grousome death at work and lost it. She thought I was crying uncontrollably. I wasn't, I was dying. I finally got it out to her I couldn't breath. Although I went back to work on the next schedualed work day, I suffered. It took me several months to recover fully. Working in a foundery didn't help the recovery any.
Like I've said before, in that place, I've been blown up, burnt up, sh*t on, pissed on, and nearly flattened to the thickness of a piece of paper.I suffered post tramatic syndrome from that place.
Whether you think so or not, your recovery will take a while. I know, I went through it myself.

You and your better part has our blessings for a full and quick recovery.

Anti, I am glad you two are OK!  Or as OK as ever.....

Many people wake up to find themselves dead - you are very lucky!

As you say, gas is most likely to do this and LP is worst of all.  Posted some tips in Sweep's thread on CO Hazzards.  Hope the messages help save someone the close call you have suffered.

Just curious, what caused the blockage in the furnace flue?  

I have had critters in my chimney before and got concerned about them plugging it up.

Thanks for the info Sweep. Wow, I must have been poisoned in the 50-60 range.
They really gased us that day!

Anti...Thank God you and your wife survived.  I'll say an extra prayer for you tonight.  As for all the troubles you've been through, it looks to me like you have been chosen to be the example for everyone else...you know...what NOT to do!  LOL  Take care, get some rest, and try to stay safe for awhile, ok?  [;)]

Tim - Man, you are either very lucky or very unlucky. I can't decide which. I'm glad you're OK!!!!  2001 has been a tough year on all fronts.

Scary stuff.  If you have a gas water heater or a gas dryer (lint can be a problem) you might also want to have them check out. Those vents are not as likely to get clog as with the gas furnace. Them birds sometimes like to build their nests in the vents through the spring and summer breaks.

YIKES! I'm happy you're (and your wife) here to type your warning.

We think this happen to one of my pilot friends. He was overcome by Carbon Monoxide and did a slow spiral right into the ground. It can happen in a small cockpit, quickly. We have a detector mounted on the panel.