One year ago today...

The night was normal. It was a rainy cold winter night, and we were snuggled up in our beds. Libbie always woke up and came to our bed around 3:00 am, but tonight she came early, around 2:00 am. I thank God that she did. Had she made it later than that she or all of us would have been dead.

That night when she crawled into bed with us, I got up to use the bathroom. I felt funny in the short walk to the bathroom. Like my head was a balloon, hovering above my body. It felt as though I was drifting to the bathroom. I made it to the toilet, and then woke up on the floor. I don't know how long I was there, as it felt that time has stopped. I didn't know why I was on the floor, nor did I remember getting to the floor. I sat up, and instantly felt sick. I vomited forcefully, and managed to get some on me. Knowing I wasn't going back to bed that way, I drew a bath. Little did I know that it would be that much more worse for me to turn on the water. It was like I was signing my death wish. I knew the furnace was on, because I heard it, but I was so disoriented that the thought never occurred to me. I washed myself up with all the strength I had, and then got out to towel off. I remember walking to the sink, but I don't remember anything more than that but waking up to Troy asking "Why are you laying in the hallway? Are you OK?"
I had woke him up with my moaning of pain. He didn't understand what was going on, and asked me if I could get up. I lifted my head, and the side not facing Troy was covered in blood. I was still unaware of how hurt I was, but when I saw Troy's face, I knew it was bad. Troy, my pillar of strength, my hero-man, was doing a panic circle and was ready to kill whomever was in the house that had done this to me. His first thought at the sight of my blood, was that someone was in the house. His terror jolted me to my core. I immediately started crying. When Troy is scared, I am lost.
Laying there on the floor, naked and covered with blood, my husband was debating on what the next step was. "I'm calling 9-1-1." He called and hung up. "You are naked. Lets get you dressed." 9-1-1 calls back and he explains what the situation is to the best of his knowledge. "She's bleeding badly. Yes, we need an ambulance." I'm propped up by our khaki colored couch and blood is dripping down the side of it. I then realize how bad this really is. I black out again.
Troy drops the phone and swoops me up in one motion to the rocking chair, dresses me and then gets back on the phone. Libbie is awake and sees that I am bleeding. "You need band-aids, Mom." She says calmly. The door busts open and I hear lots of men talking. Troy directs them to me, and I see a stretcher. "Call my mom," I say hoarsely as they start bandaging my scalp. "She's going to freak out, but we need someone to get Libs."
They got me on the back board and secured my head, it was raining so when they carted me outside, they put the sheet over my head. My mom pulls up and I can hear her screaming. She thinks I'm dead. My mom thinks her only daughter is dead. I can feel her heart break in my core. I yell as loud as I can muster through my sandpaper throat, "MOM I'M OK!!! I'M OK!!!" I'm loaded into the EMS, and the ride seemed to take an hour. My chin is throbbing, my head is so painful it starts to numb from adrenaline. My only thought is "What the hell is going on?!"

Ten staples in my scalp, and a gnarly bruise on my chin, and my right hand that is throbbing in pain. It's not broken, but to this day when my hands get cold, a painful reminder, my fingers lock.

We had Carbon Monoxide, and I was poisoned. I had made my way out of the bathroom, and collapsed, scalping myself on the door frame in the hallway. I fell, dead weight on my chin and ear. When I blacked out while Troy was on the phone, I nearly broke my right hand by falling on it fingertips down. I was in bad shape. Yet at the point of going back home, we still had no clue as to why this happened. We got home from the hospital and Liberty started puking. We knew then that it was SOMETHING in the house. We immediately packed our things and headed strait to my moms. The Ohio City fire department came down, and Troy went back, they still found nothing.

Then Troy was in the house, with fresh batteries in the Carbon Monoxide detector, and it started blaring. When the water heater was on at the same time as the furnace, it was pumping strait Carbon-Monoxide into the air of our home. Libbie's room is directly beside the water heater and furnace. Our daughter should have been dead. God didn't allow us that pain. And I would be stapled 20,000 times over before I could ever endure losing my little girl.

My life and outlook was changed on this day last year. I knew that my life, our lives were precious, and I wasn't wasting another minute. I devoted my entirety to God, whom saved us all that night. In more ways than one.

Please, PLEASE make sure that if you have any type of gas heat, that you have a working carbon monoxide detector in your home. It could save your life or the lives of those you love. I know, I've lived through it by God's grace.