It happened to me: I was poisoned by carbon monoxide after neighbor removed beeping battery

082108Moses.JPGSarah Moses

I will never forget April Fools' Day. Emergency room doctors told me I was lucky to be alive, and that was no joke.

On April 1, I was treated for carbon monoxide poisoning at Upstate Medical University after a pipe leading to my furnace broke and began spilling carbon monoxide into my apartment for five days.

My neighbor removed the batteries to my carbon monoxide detector, which was located outside my second-floor apartment door, five days before I was hospitalized. She said it was beeping and she assumed the batteries were dead, a mistake that could have taken my life.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Council says about 170 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning from non-automotive consumer products, such as water heaters, fireplaces and generators.

My carbon monoxide detector was disabled on March 28, and I woke up each morning with a painful headache for the remainder of the week. The headaches were severe but went away a few hours later when I arrived at work. I thought I was having a reaction to a medication or coming down with a cold.

On March 31, I came home to a chilly apartment, and I turned my thermostat up to 72 degrees. This was something I rarely do, but I was trying on outfits for my upcoming vacation in Florida and I didn't want to be cold. I forgot to turn the thermostat down and toasty warm air, mixed with poisonous carbon monoxide, filled my bedroom for eight hours as I slept.

When my alarm went off at 7 a.m., after a night of tossing and turning, I awoke with a severe headache, a racing heartbeat, shaking hands and shortness of breath. I took some Motrin for my headache, drank some Kool-Aid and headed back to my bed. But something stopped me. I remember thinking to myself that if I go back to bed, I might not wake up.

I've always been a "worst-case scenario" thinker, and for once my pessimistic attitude saved my life. I immediately suspected carbon monoxide, but I went to Google to confirm my theory, instead of calling 911.

Firing up my laptop and searching carbon monoxide poisoning I became more light-headed and nauseous. I had all the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, including headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness. I still thought I was crazy, but I grabbed the carbon monoxide detector out of the hallway, replaced the batteries and confirmed my fears.

I called my mom, hoping she would tell me I was crazy and to go back to sleep, but she ordered me to call National Grid. I did as they asked and opened all the windows in my apartment, turned off my furnace and waited for the electric and gas company technician to arrive.

National Grid workers found the source of the gas, and my landlord fixed the furnace and installed a detector inside my apartment. At Upstate, I received four hours of oxygen and slept off my exhaustion, but the fear of what could have been still consumes my thoughts.

xamanda.JPGAmanda Hansen

Amanda's Law -- named after Amanda Hansen, a 16-year-old Buffalo-area girl who died in January 2009 -- went into effect Feb. 22, 2010. The law states that homes built before 2008 must have a detector on the lowest level that has a sleeping area. In houses built after 2008, there must be a detector on any level with a sleeping area and on any level with a source of carbon monoxide.

Detectors save lives and cost between $20 and $65 and are available at any home goods store. If you don't have a detector, install one because it could save your life.

And if a detector goes off, don't ignore it, and don't remove the batteries. That could be the biggest mistake of your life, or of someone else's life.

Contact Sarah Moses at or 470-2298.