It was a typical weekend day for 59-year-old Michael Canaday of Eugene. He was working in his auto shop with his grandson. Since it was cold outside, Michael was using a propane heater and had the doors closed. Later, as he started working on a vehicle, Michael turned on the engine. As it ran, Michael and his grandson had no idea that colorless, odorless and deadly carbon monoxide gas was building up in the auto shop.
Michael’s grandson, 14-year-old John Cotter, was first to complain of a headache and nausea, although Michael was also experiencing the same symptoms.
“I thought it was just me, and without John bringing it to my attention, I may not have had the presence of mind to seek fresh air and ask for help,” Michael explained.
Not long after voicing his complaint, John lost consciousness.
“This is what made me realize I was in big trouble. He was my ‘canary,’” Michael said, referring to the practice miners used in the past to determine whether dangerous gases were present in a coal mine.
Michael had enough strength to stumble to the door and tell his wife to call 9-1-1. Paramedics arrived and took both John and Michael to the hospital. Emergency room physicians at Sacred Heart confirmed the diagnosis of carbon monoxide exposure.
Dr. Robert Barnes, medical director of Sacred Heart's
Hyperbaric Center, talked to both John and Michael about hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is an effective treatment for acute carbon monoxide poisoning,” explained Dr. Barnes. “Patients in our hyperbaric chambers breathe 100 percent oxygen at pressures two to three times the normal atmospheric pressure, which pushes oxygen into the blood stream. This prevents the brain injury that can occur following carbon monoxide poisoning,” he said.
Both Michael and John were treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. John was the first pediatric patient to undergo treatment at Sacred Heart; both were also the first emergency room patients to be treated for carbon monoxide exposure at the Hyperbaric Center.
“As a patient, we were treated very well. They explained to us what was happening and what to expect while having treatment,” Michael said.
While the treatments were long and fatiguing at times, both felt much better after. Michael had a headache prior to the treatment, which went away after. His grandson, while still weak, saw his breathing improve very quickly.
Today, both feel great and haven’t had any additional side effects or complications. Just as his grandson was his “canary,” Michael hopes that sharing his story with others will increase awareness among those who may come into contact with deadly carbon monoxide gas.
Michael and John's story was featured in The Register-Guard newspaper and KVAL-TV News.
