When I had my little girl 10 years ago, I was extremely sick the whole time I was pregnant. I already had 10 children and had never been this sick. We attributed it to my being 45. I had actually felt very good before getting pregnant so I was stumped that it hit me so hard. I would lay on my bed, in the evening after work, and wish that someone would shoot me. I just knew that after I had her, everything would go back to normal. It usually takes me 2 - 3 weeks to get my feet back on the ground, but this time it was months and months and I still felt worse and worse. I was in so much pain physically that I could hardly function. I forced myself to work because we needed the income. Most of the time I had to drag my right leg, because I couldn't pick it up. My spine twisted into scoliosis and I lost about 4" in my height. More days than not, I wanted to die because I hurt so bad and it was 24/7. I did some cleanses and enemas daily, it would give me a few hours of partial relief but it never lasted. I would just be standing still and my body would go into a spasm to where I could hardly breathe. One of our employees was standing by me one time when it happened and was shocked to see all of the color drain out of my face and I could hardly breathe. When Ariana was about 20 months old, my sewer backed up. I had 4" of sewer in my bathtub, shower and laundry room downstairs. I, of course, lost it! I started to cry and my husband had me call a plumber to come in and make any repairs that had to be made.
When the plumber got here, I showed him where the water heater was because that is where one of our constant leaks had been. He shined his flashlight into the area and then swung around, saying, "Oh my God, you should all be dead!" His face was ashen. He asked me how long this area had been this way. I had no idea what he was talking about. He then showed me how the piping on top of the water heater was knocked away and all of the Carbon Monoxide was coming into the house. He told me that I had to take all of my kids and get out now! I told him that if we weren't dead yet, obviously we weren't dieing anytime soon. I told him I was too sick to pack up that many kids and leave. I said turn everything off, I don't care anymore. He then jimmied the piping with cardboard and duct tape so that the emissions were going out. He came the next day and did the initial repair work. Whoever had replaced our water heater about 4 years before, should have brought the piping up to code but they had not.
I am sure that we are still here because of an old leaky house. At that time I had air pouring in the cracks of the front door and the basement door, also from the fireplace in the next room. With such a large family, the doors were always being opened, I am sure that is what saved our lives. A normal amount of Carbon Monoxide coming in is about 25 - 50 ppm. (parts per million)
We weren't getting enough on a regular basis to kill us just enough to make us wish we were dead. All of my children had been sick and struggling but everyone attributed it to my being down and they were just feeling for me. About three months later, an article in the Deseret News came out about a couple who had been being poisoned by their water heater! They were both trying out for the Olympics at BYU but had to drop out because of constant flu like symptoms that continued to get worse. The womans parents finally came to stay with them to help them. The first night they were there, the next morning both parents had a major headache. The mom knew something had to be wrong with the apartment. Their water heater was emitting 500 x's more carbon monoxide than it was supposed to. So, enough was in their home to make them sick but not kill them. I took the article about this couple to my daughters school to talk with the principal that following September. She was in 9th grade that year. The principal said she was a completely different person this year than she had been in 7th and 8th grades. He said that every time he had seen her before, he felt like telling her to lie down because she looked dead all of the time. This new year he was shocked to see what a different person she was. He said, "She looks alive for the first time she has come here!"
I noticed a difference in my head within 6 weeks but it took years before the pain really even began to leave my body. I have never regained all of my height back, I regained about 2 1/2" but that varies depending on how tired I am. Much of the time I cannot stand up straight anymore.
Our second leak was discovered this last November. We had a gas leak that I thought I could smell for a couple of days but I wasn't really sure. Then my daughter stopped by, walked in the house and said, "You have to get out of here now, you have a gas leak!" We called Questar and they came over within the hour to check it out. Sure enough the furnace was leaking gas, but the gentleman was more concerned with the 4,000 ppm carbon monoxide that was coming into the house from the base of the water heater. Once again, I heard the words, "Oh my God, you should all be dead!"
I knew I was sick and getting sicker but I attributed it to the first Carbon Monoxide leak. I had been told that one of the things that happen to people who have had these leaks was eventually they would get MS. So I had been researching this for a while. My knees hurt terribly, especially my right one, which was so swollen most of the time that my pants were tight on it. I couldn't walk normally up and down the stairs, my joints hurt all the time. I felt like crying all the time. Once again my head hurt all the time, I had a hard time keeping my thoughts together. My one daughter was continually monitoring me because she was so concerned. She was the one who made me call Questar.
Now eight months after this, I realize once again how extremely sick I was. When you are in the thick of life, sometimes it takes someone else to point out that things just aren't right and that there needs to be some change. We now have a new furnace and water heater in this house. We
have been trying to sell our home so we weren't going to fix anything, just sell it as is. Do not make the same mistake we made, make sure that you have your furnace and water heater checked out yearly! They always remind you about the furnace but I am here to tell you that the water heater is just as important!
I am retelling these stories in hopes that if there is someone out there who can't seem to get better, it may be your home. You may have a leak, or leaks, like we did and not have enough to kill you, just make you deathly sick. Black mold could be your culprit. This couple had been being monitored by their doctors the whole time and no one knew the answer until her parents came to stay! Doctors are not looking for this type of problem, I think because usually the people die or it is very obvious that there is a leak. Please, please, please, if you can't get seem to get better and you are sick all the time, please have your home checked.
I pray each of you who read this will have much Health, Peace and Happiness. If you know anyone that you might suspect has a similar situation, please help them. They are probably having a hard time thinking for themselves and just plain can't figure out why. God Bless.
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