firemen | eryn b good

Since the fire I have been feeling very ill…off, not myself. I know the holidays are tough on everyone but I found myself extremely depressed, emotional (a freaking SEARS COMMERCIAL MADE ME CRY LIKE A BABY over and over again), irritable to the point where I couldn’t even have the TV on because the sounds made me crazy. I’ve been disoriented, unable to think clearly and haven’t even been able to read let alone compile a blog post, as I’ve been struggling to comprehend words.

I lost my appetite, had stomach aches, felt nauseous all the time and from the 26th of December haven’t been able to get off my couch due to the severe pain I have been in caused by really bad muscle aches, joint pain and fatigue. I have Fibromyalgia and for the first little bit I thought I was just having a particularly bad week but as it crept in to January I knew it had to be something else.

So last Monday I finally went to the doctor (a girl at work mentioned Strep throat because I had a rash on my neck and white on the back of my tongue but it turns out that was just yoghurt. oops!). So the Doc couldn’t figure it out, chalked it up to my Fibro and decided to test me for Mono just in case, as the exhaustion has been absolutely overwhelming. BUT when I casually mentioned the fire that happened just before Christmas he perked up and said ‘That’s it!’.

So I don’t have Mono! WOO! But I do have MONO-xide poisoning, of the Carbon variety. It seems I didn’t escape the fire unscathed after all. Officially, it’s Acute Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. A one time exposure, very mild (holy shit I feel bad for the people who get extreme poisoning), and after taking a few natural remedies (Vit D-3, CoEnzyme Q10, Stress Vitamins, algae, antioxidants, Omega 3), I am feeling ten times better since last Monday. I feel my energy returning, my skin colour is getting back to normal and the headaches are gone. I’m not 100% yet, but even the relief of knowing what’s wrong makes me feel better and I know I’ll make a full recovery.

I know, this isn’t a health blog! BUT the reason I am sharing this is because there is not a lot known about this kind of poisoning and many doctors misdiagnose it as something else (as would have happened with me, had I not mentioned the fire). There are so many side effects that people wouldn’t normally associate with it, like strong emotions, pain, fatigue, nausea and so many more. These symptoms can last a life time as a result of brain damage caused by the poisoning (if you’ve had long term exposure to CO, or a very bad case of poisoning at some point in your past), and I can’t even imagine how many people are out there going crazy thinking they’re depressed or ‘just tired’ or thinking it’s ‘all in their head’ when in fact they’ve been poisoned. Half of the people affected don’t even realize there’s something wrong until friends and family point out that they’ve been acting differently.

I think awareness has to be heightened about CO poisoning and the scary fact that the symptoms mimic other health concerns. From a house fire to a bad space heater to dirty chimneys, there are SO MANY ways one can be poisoned and as we all know, it can be deadly. Please, for the love of god, make sure your detectors are plugged in and operational. If you notice you’re feeling ‘off’ or someone you love is acting differently than normal, talk to them and your doctor about CO poisoning. Unfortunately there is no test that can officially diagnose a past exposure but talking about it and being educated on the symptoms can make a huge difference. And as I said, the relief that comes with knowing what’s wrong is immense and will free you to take the necessary steps to recovering.

Oh and one more thing, if you’re ever in a situation like I was, seek out the paramedics and get oxygen immediately, even if you think you’re OK. If I had taken oxygen that night, my symptoms would have been a LOT less severe, but I thought I was fine and the scariest part? So did the firemen.

Muchos Besos,
eb

Sorry for the hiatus guys and gals, it’s been a crazy few weeks! To start off I hope you all had a wonderful and love filled holiday and that you all have an amazing 2013.

My holidays were not as wonderful as they could have been, but they were quite the experience nonetheless. So here is the story of how my Christmas Holidays, 2012, started off….

I finished work as usual on December 21st, and headed home to start making Christmas presents. I am not a big believer in spending crazy amounts of money to show my friends and family I love them, so instead I bake or make treats. Last year it was handmade chocolates, this year it was pistachio and cranberry shortbread drizzled in white belgian chocolate.

(last year’s chocolates) This year’s shortbread Packaged and ready to gift!

Shortbread has to sit in the fridge for a while so I got all the batter all ready, popped it in the fridge and after a bottle of wine and a nice little smoke, I sat down around 11pm to relax on the couch. About an hour later I felt unusually drowsy but chalked it up to a long week. Then I smelled something odd, figured it must be coming from outside and continued to cuddle myself on the couch. About ten minutes after that all hell broke loose! I smelled smoke and started looking around my apartment to see if something was on fire. I then heard loud banging on my door, it was my neighbour, he informed me his basement apartment was filled with smoke and that he was evacuating his family and the firedepartment was on its way. I turned back into my apartment to get my coat and could barely see 5 feet infront of me due to all the smoke.

Then I had that moment, the one we all dread having, the moment you realize your house is going to burn down, you’re going to lose everything, what should you grab. What would you grab? I thought about it while putting on my socks. I thought ‘maybe I’ll grab a pair of jeans, but then I’ll need a shirt too, and underwear, and my make up, and and and’. I realized in that second that it was an ‘all or nothing’ kind of situation so I grabbed my phone and purse, unplugged my lamps, put on my coat, and got the hell out.

This picture is of the firemen busting in to the apartment below me, there was no answer so they had to break down the door. The guys weren’t home, thank god. Side note: I never would have guessed that in a panic, when I thought that I was going to lose everything in a fire, my gut reaction would be to grab my phone, put on socks and unplug my lamps…but that is what happened.

Outside it all seemed much calmer, although the yard was covered in firemen and hoses and the street was crammed with fire trucks.

I stood in my pj’s watching, taking it all in, shivering like a leaf. I spoke with a lady from next door and she told me that it was an electrical fire. The light fixture in one of the two basement apartments had sparked and started a fire. Aparently the entire ceiling went up in flames although we couldn’t see any from the street, just all the smoke. After standing for about an hour, a very nice (very handsome) fireman came up to me if I’d be more comfortable waiting in one of their trucks. I wanted to scream with delight! He took me to the back of the nearest truck and I had a seat on the back step. It looked like this:

I should mention that I (like many other women and children), LOVE firemen and fire trucks and I was like a kid in a candy store once he put me in the truck.

A few minutes went by and my handsome fireman came back to tell me I might be warmer up front (I GET TO SIT IN THE FRONT!?!?), I said ‘If you think so, sure, thank you.” as calmly as possible and followed him around to the front. He opened the door for me and pointed out each seat telling me why I might be comfortable in one opposed to the other and so forth. He even pulled down a seat off the side and told me I might like it too. I pointed to the one I wanted (with the best view of all the action), and he said ‘yes, that is a good one too’. He then let go of the fold down seat, which flipped up so quickly it hit his elbow which caused him to whack himself in the face. I tried not to giggle as I thanked him. He closed the door and went back to work. I kept catching him looking over at me, and at one point he came to ‘drop off his mask’. I think a mutual crush was developing, but I can’t be sure.

Anyway, another hour went by and we were cleared to go back inside. I was worried, the place was still smokey but they assured me all would be fine, the fire was out and was not going to start again. It was safe. Obviously I couldn’t sleep. I stayed up watching through my livingroom window, as they cleaned up their gear and equipment and packed into the trucks. I paced around a little, reflecting on what just happened. Something like this, so close to Christmas, really put things into perspective for me. Faced with the thought of losing everything I just couldn’t stop thinking of how lucky I was to get out unharmed. Possessions are nothing, I am so thankful for my family and friends, and I am so happy to have life. As I pondered this, and thanked the universe for keeping me safe, I also wished I could see my fireman again. And then there was another knock at the door. It was handsome fireman back with another fireman! I was thrilled for a half a second but then I saw why he was back…. I had left my purse in the truck and they had come to return it and I felt myself turn red instantly! Just a little embarrassing but totally worth it to be greeted at my door by two of Toronto’s finest (and hottest) heroes. Everyone is convinced I left it in the truck on purpose; if only I was that calculating I would have looked WAAAYYY cuter when he came to return it.

Two days later I brought a batch of shortbread to the firehouse. I had a card for the entire crew that was at my house, thanking them for their hard work and commitment to the safety of others. Honest to god you have no idea how amazing these people are until you see them in action. I also had a card addressed to ‘The Fireman who returned my purse’. The girl I was handing it to told me that he was off that day but I should leave my phone number so he could call me to thank me, ‘He’s single’ she whispered!! I giggled and said quietly ‘it’s already in there’.

It’s now 3 weeks later, the holidays have come and gone and I haven’t heard from my handsome fireman. I still feel good about the situation though, I put myself out there and I feel great about that. I haven’t been meeting anyone buy standing idle so I did something about it, tried something different, and still have a smile on my face when I think about the experience.

Unfortunately there were some bad side effects that came with my exposure to the smoke but I’ll talk about that in part. 2.

Thanks for reading!