Kitchener woman ‘glad to tell’ of carbon monoxide poisoning
Of the two detectors in the home, the batteries were dead in one and the other was removed
KITCHENER — Thea Trussler never gave a thought to carbon monoxide poisoning, until it happened to her.
“You don’t really listen to PSAs on carbon monoxide,” Trussler said. “But I almost died.”
It was a close call for the Kitchener woman, who credits a persistent cat for eventually rousing her.
A bad headache was the first sign of trouble. That woke Trussler up early Monday morning. She took medication and went back to bed, hoping to sleep it off.
But she woke up again an hour later because the headache was worse.
“The pain was so excruciating,” Trussler said.
She got up and collapsed in the bathroom, but again, the odd symptoms didn’t cause too much alarm.
Warning signs of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, weakness and confusion.
“I wasn’t thinking clearly. This is all fuzzy,” Trussler said.
Back to bed she went, and then the normally early bird slept longer than usual. One of her cats finally woke her.
Trussler had a busy day planned and tried to get moving, but she was feeling quite nauseous.
“I’d get up, but then I’d have to sit down for a bit,” she said.
By the time she made it downstairs, she started experiencing chest pain and that’s when she got worried, thinking she was having a heart attack.
Trussler called 911 for an ambulance. Firefighters were first to respond and immediately their carbon monoxide detectors alerted them to the danger lurking in the home.
There had been two in Trussler’s home, but she later found the batteries were dead in one and another had been mistakenly removed when a friend moved out.
Trussler and another friend staying in the basement were rushed to nearby St. Mary’s General Hospital and put on oxygen. Then the pair was transported to a Hamilton hospital that has a hyperbaric chamber. That highpressure treatment delivers a high dose of oxygen to speed the replacement of carbon monoxide with oxygen in the blood.
Trussler was treated there for three hours before being released, although she was told to expect lingering tiredness, confusion and headaches.
She thinks a couple of issues contributed to the carbon monoxide in her 1950s home. The natural gas furnace was at least 30 years old, although a recent check by a technician deemed it to be functioning fine. The water heater had also been installed incorrectly.
“There may have been a slow leak for a while,” Trussler said.
Once a new furnace was installed and the water heater fixed, Trussler returned home. Carbon monoxide can be in a home any time of the year, but the risk is greater in winter months because furnaces and heaters can release the gas if they’re not installed correctly or malfunction.
The gas is invisible and odourless. Breathing it in reduces the body’s ability to carry oxygen in the blood.
More than 50 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning in Canada, including 11 on average in Ontario, according to the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs. Hundreds are hospitalized every year from carbon monoxide poisoning, many of whom are permanently disabled.
Her vet advised Trussler to limit activity for her dog and two cats, who seem unaffected, for a couple weeks.
She feels thankful, although the gravity of the situation is sinking in.
“It’s terrifying just thinking how close it was,” she said.
Now she feels compelled to warn other people about the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. Since posting the ordeal on Facebook, she’s heard from people who said they don’t have detectors in their home or that they are going to get an old furnace checked out.
“It can happen to anyone,” Trussler said.
“I’m glad to tell the tale.”