Monday, July 16, 2012

James left this morning for Show Low.  He is doing a job for Owen and will be doing some concrete saw cutting in a basement.  When I asked him when he would be back he said around 3 o'clock.  I got a call around 10:30.  James sounded like he was drunk.  He said he had been saw cutting in the basement with not ventilation and he had gotten dizzy so he went outside and then he passed out. He passed out twice, once for 45 minutes.  He tried to drive home but stopped by the St. John's turnoff and called me.  I jumped in my car and went to him and followed him home.  He took a shower and changed clothers and was going to lie down and take a nap but Trina said that was the worst thing he could do.  She had called poison control and they said to call 911 immediately.  She kept saying he needed to go to the hospital and be on oxygen.  Finally she called a nurse who has been practicing 35 years and when she said he needed to go in immediately James finally listened.  Trina had also mentioned that carbon monoxide poisoning is called the "silent death."  That got my attention. 

The doctor at the hospital in Show Low, Summit Healthcare, was shocked with how high James's levels of carbon monoxide were, 23.  They put him on oxygen and told him he had to get down to 5 before he could go home. We were at the hospital from 1-9pm.  I am so thankful for Trina and her insistence that James go in.  If we hadn't, it could have been fatal.  Carbon monoxide attaches itself to your hemoglobin and keeps oxygen from getting to vital organs.