Scary Night

Ok... so here is the story...


     Last night when I got home from work (about 4:30) I plopped myself on the couch to read. I was so tired, but was feeling ok. At 6:00 I went to pick up Andrew from work. When we got home, we both plopped on the couch. I picked my book back up, and Andrew was playing DS. I started to get really nauseated, which is not totally abnormal for me, so I closed my eyes. I slept from about 7:00-7:45 and woke up with a sore throat. Now this was kind of odd, but there are several sick kids at daycare, so I was not terribly surprised. By now I was very nauseous and wanted dinner. Andrew cooked dinner and we ate shortly after 8:00. I barley ate my meal because I was not feeling well, and starting to get a headache. 
     All of a sudden I smelled something funny. I knew it was gas. So I told Andrew that I thought I smelled gas... and he told me I was crazy. I told him again a few min. later, and again, he blamed my "pregnant nose." A few minutes later, just before I gave up and went to bed, I told him I was serious and he needed to get up and check it out. He did, and just as he admitted to smelling it the Carbon Monoxide detector went off. I started to panic and called Dad. He told us to get out of the house (which we were doing already) and to call NYSEG. So, Andrew grabbed Lily and I grabbed a NYSEG bill and my purse and out we went. We sat out in the car and I talked to NYSEG. The lady made me feel really stupid, and said that someone would be there shortly. This was at 8:45. At 9:05 they still were not there and I was worried about the house exploding. So, I called 9-1-1 at 9:05. By 9:07 I had almost every volunteer fireman and a firetruck sitting in front of my house. The street was blocked off, and they were inside. (Did I mention that 1/2 of them live on my street...lol!)
     They have a detector they use to well, detect natural gas or carbon monoxide, or both, I don't really know. As soon as they opened the door I could hear our detector going off, and they went in. One came out shortly thereafter and said to Andrew and I, "Look, I am not going to sugar coat this, your house is registering at 91. That is a lethal level. If you had stayed in a few more hours, you would be dead. You are very lucky you have that carbon monoxide detector." It really saved our lives. If it had not gone off, we probably would have gone to bed and never woken up. That just makes me ill to think about. 
      My neighbor asked me how I was feeling and I told him that I was nauseated and tired, but that I was pregnant, so those were "normal" for me. They all got really nervous and called another fireman over who is also an EMT. He called an ambulance to come and check me out. The ambulance came, and I climbed into the back of it... which was kind of cool, I had never been in one before. They tested my oxygen, blood pressure, and pulse. They said my oxygen was ok, but my blood pressure and pulse were high. (Of course they are!) They recommended that I go to the ER and offered to take me. I politely declined their offer and told them I really didn't want to pay for the ride. Haha... I told them I would call my OB and see what he said, and if he wanted me to go, then Andrew could take me.
     While I was in the ambulance NYSEG arrived and all the firemen left. Andrew was in the house with the NYSEG guy when I finished. It was about 9:30 and that is when I called my OB. Doctor Clair was on call, and she wanted me to go the "nearest ER." OK OK... I'll go! Andrew was busy with the NYSEG man, so my neighbor offered to take me. It was very kind of him, but I told him my sister would take me, and he gave Lily and I a ride up there. I dropped Lily off, and Chris dropped me off at the hospital. 
     I checked in some time around 9:50. Andrew arrived at the ER around 10:45 leaving Chris with the NYSEG man at our house. At 11:10 I was given a room. At 12:00 I saw the doctor. He was really not very concerned until he found out I was pregnant. Then he wanted to run a blood test. At 1:00 I had my blood draw. At 2:30 the doctor came in and thanked us for being patient. At 2:40 the nurse came in and said that my blood was all good. But she needed to call Poison Control before she could send me home. She came back at 2:45 and said she could not get a hold of poison control and wanted to know who my OB was. She tried to call him, but Doctor Clair was on call, so she answered and cleared me to go home. At 3:00am I was discharged from the hospital. It was kind of crazy.
     On the way home we picked up Lily from Sarah & Chris's house and went home. We climbed into bed at 3:15am. WAAAAY
     And THAT was our VERY LONG, VERY SCARY NIGHT. I don't think that it would ever sit well with a person when they said had you waited a couple more hours, you would be dead. That is the second time in my life I have heard that (1st was with my ectopic pregnancy) and it just not jive with me. I am still a little shaky about the whole situation. Every time I hear a beep, my heart jumps and my stomach drops.
   As scary as it was, I learned a few things. First of all, NYSEG is SLOW. Second, I was impressed with the speed of Geneva's Fire Department, especially the volunteers. They were fast, and very kind. Yes, it helps that half of them were our neighbors. And probably another 1/4 of them I went to high school with. Third, I have AMAZING neighbors. I am not even kidding. My neighbors across the street are wonderful. They were so good to me. Offering me to come inside, bringing me a chair, offering a blanket, etc. They also visited with me, which helped me calm down. My dad was not there, and I would have to say, having Chris (my bro-in-law) & Mr. Baxter was the next best thing in the moment. We just feel SO BLESSED to have such great neighbors who watch out for us.
    Lastly, I know that we were being watched out for. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. We feel so blessed to be alive because we very well could have died last night. I am also very grateful that the baby is ok. They did not check the baby at all last night in the ER, which really bothered me. I have a home doppler though, and was very grateful I had it when I got up this morning. (I had a little spotting, and with all that happened last night I HAD to make sure). I was able to find the heartbeat rather quickly at 160-165 bpm. Music to my ears.
     I apologize for the length of this post. It is more for me to be able to remember later on... even though I know I left a TON out. But if you made it through, thank you so much for your love and support. And
OF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE... GET A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR. It saved our lives last night, and it could save yours too.
WE LOVE YOU.