FARMVILLE, N.C. - An area woman thought she was having major health problems.
As it turns out, she may have been suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
“A lot of days id come home from work and eat supper and have a headache so bad id have a Tylenol before I went to bed,” said Nancy Oakley, possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
Little did Oakley know, the furnace in her Farmville home was potentially poisoning her with a colorless odorless gas.
The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can sometimes be hard to distinguish.
“Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, they can be masked by you thought you had the flu or something like that,” said Capt. Brock Davenport, Greenville Fire & Rescue.
But then, Nancy's heater died.
When the repairman came to fix it, she said what he found startled her, “He said Nancy, you're lucky to be alive. You have been breathing in carbon monoxide because you have a leak.”
She said he said it was a slow leak and probably was doing so for about a year.
“If it hadn't quit, that Sunday, I probably would not be here,” she said. “I could have died in my sleep.”
Now Nancy is urging everyone she knows to have a carbon monoxide detector in their home and to have their furnace serviced at least once a year.
It had been a couple of years since she had her’s looked at.
Now that she has a new furnace, Nancy says she feels great!
“My headaches are gone, my chest pains are gone, no nausea, no sleeplessness, it's wonderful,” Oakley said. “I guess the carbon monoxide is out of my system, thank God!”
Those who have appliances run by gas or oil need to be aware of carbon monoxide poisoning. This also applies to people with gas or wood fireplaces.
Carbon monoxide detectors cost anywhere from $16 and up.
Firefighters say if your alarm goes off, leave your home and contact them so they can make sure it's safe for you to go back in.
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