Visitors
When Kathi heard the doorbell ringing, She dragged herself upright, hunched over, and coughed heavily. Reaching for her walking stick, she pulled herself up from the couch. As she shuffled to the door, her cane scraped and tapped against the wooden floor.
The contractors had arrived. When they made their way upstairs to finish the job, she retired back to the couch – her usual spot. She closed her eyes, hoping that a nap would alleviate her blinding migraine. Then, she heard them scream her name.
Long Illness
Kathi Wilson seemed like any other 41-year-old who lived in Shelbyville, Indiana. All her life, she had worked hard to support her family. Admittedly, she wasn't a CrossFit enthusiast, but she lived an active life.
Ten years ago, she fell ill unexpectedly, and she had convinced herself that she was just run down from stress and work. But her daughter was worried as her mother's symptoms began to escalate to frightening new levels.
Progression
At times, Kati felt like a prisoner in her own mind. Blood pounded in her ears. Her heart thudded in her chest. Her hands shook and her feet tingled. She had no idea what was going on. Was she losing her mind?
Kathi continued to go to work, even though it was a struggle. But aside from the physical flu-like symptoms that she'd battled for years, Kathi was now beginning to have other disturbing symptoms as well.
Shadows
Kathi was walking to her car one day from work when she noticed something strange. In the corner of her eye, she could distinctly see someone behind her. But then, as she turned around to face the stranger, nothing was there.
Insecure and scared, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. She clutched her keys and made a fist around them like a weapon. She knew that if she had to fight, she would. Little did she know, there was no use.
Being Followed
When she got home she tried to calm herself by preparing some herbal tea. But as soon as the kettle boiled, she could see the shadowy figure again -- right behind her. With a jump, she turned around. But there was nothing there.
She looked in every room for some kind of sign, but she didn’t find anything. She went back for her cup of tea, her hands wrapped around it so tightly that her nails dug into the porcelain. What was happening to her?
Visit To The Doctor
The next day, Kathi gulped down a cocktail of vitamins and over-the-counter medicines. She was sure that a deficiency of some kind could be causing her strange symptoms. She took Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Zinc, Iron— but none of it seemed to help.
After a few weeks her daughter, Ashely, forced her to go and see a doctor. But the doctor just confirmed what she already knew, and she was given a sick note to take a few days off from work to destress. But Kathi’s mysterious illness was only just rearing its ugly head.
Lost Time
A few days later, Kathi didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary... until looked at the time on her phone. She had been watching tv in her living room. As her favorite show cut to the ads, she got up to use the bathroom. When she went into the living room again, she didn’t think anything was strange -- the ads on the TV were still running. But then, she looked at the clock.
Twenty minutes had passed. Has she taken 20 minutes in the bathroom? That couldn’t be right, plus the adverts were still on. She paused her TV and rewound it, but saw that 20 minutes from her tv show had passed too. “When I looked back... 20 minutes had gone by. I was like 'What Is Going On?'" Kathi explains. “I then started missing huge chunks of time when I swear that only minutes passed by.” But what was happening to her? Could this all be in her head?
Something Wrong
Kathi was pale and had random bouts of exhaustion. Her appetite vanished, and her health continued to decline. Ashley was growing increasingly worried.
Weeks after her first visit, she dragged Kathi back to the doctor. They were surprised that a strong, young woman with a healthy immune system like Kathi, who should have overcome the flu weeks ago, was still deteriorating. But the flu didn't explain the other episodes she'd been having lately. Now, they were growing concerned, too.
Tests
Dr. Mary Beth Hensley, beginning to take Kathi seriously, ran blood and allergy tests in hopes of picking up any disease or intolerance. When Kathi told her about her strange experiences, she ran an MRI too. But all the tests confirmed that Kathi was a healthy woman.
They didn’t have a diagnosis, but they decided to try an “elimination” approach, so Kathi was put on several different medications. Dr. Hensley had hoped that Kathi’s reaction to the medications would give her an insight into her ailment, but instead, the opposite happened.
Bedridden
Kathi started to feel worse instead of better. She had body aches and could barely keep her eyes open. Then the mystery illness started to take even more of a toll on her mental health. Her friends and family members started to worry.
Maybe the illness was all in her head? But no, Kathi knew her body and she knew something wasn’t right. Ashely witnessed her mother’s deterioration first-hand, and she also knew in her heart that something just wasn’t right.
Exhaustion
Kathi barely slept all night while she clutched her phone close to her chest. But as she finally started to drift off, her alarm beeped. She got out of bed with heavy bones and headed to the shower. Tiredness had come in both forms, mental and physical for her, but still, she persisted.
Before taking a shower, she checked her phone to make sure she was on time. Again, minutes had gone by that she couldn't account for. Exhausted, she went to work. But as soon as she got there, an immense headache made her its prisoner. She needed to get out of there.
No Answers
She told her boss she was not feeling right and headed out the door. The fresh air hit her face and relieved her migraine a little. Determined to get to the bottom of her illness, she raced home and searched for her symptoms online. She spoke to “experts” in online chats, and she tried herbal treatments and natural remedies, but nothing seemed to be helping.
As time went by, more and more people lost faith in her, and no one could give her answers. She had never felt so alone before. Maybe it really was just all in her head?
Great Lengths
Kathi visited her doctor regularly over the next 10 years. Dr. Hensley provided Kathi with the best care and tested for everything that she could. She went to great lengths to attempt to diagnose Kathi.
She insisted on “cardiac testing, chest x-rays, MRI’s [of] the brain, the spine, to see if something was related.” But nothing seemed out of the ordinary. “I felt we were very thorough but didn’t come up with a solution,” Dr. Hensley explained. But Kathi was growing sick and tired.
Decision
Years of the mystery illness had affected Kathi’s mental health. It impacted her relationships, work, and most importantly, her quality of life.
Tension grew in her face and limbs and her mind played out every possible scenario of what could be happening to her. Her breathing had become rapid and shallow. After ten years of frightening symptoms, she decided that if no one could help her, she would help herself.
Treating Herself
Kathi desperately needed a distraction. She needed to do something for herself to take her mind off her illness.
So, Kathi decided to treat herself to a bathroom makeover. She had plans to create a sanctuary by remodeling the entire bathroom. She arranged for contractors to take care of the job. But shortly after, they made a shocking discovery.
Problems
The contractor’s forehead crumpled with concern when he asked Kathi when her water heater had been installed. Kathi knew that it had been installed years before she had gotten sick, and Ashley must have been a little girl at the time.
She thought hard and replied: “Maybe 10 years ago?” The contractors were horrified. They had discovered that the furnace and water heater, fitted incorrectly, were causing trace amounts of carbon monoxide to escape and leak into the house over an extended period of time. But isn’t carbon monoxide poisonous?
The Diagnosis Fits
Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT and the author of The Poisoner’s Handbook, says the carbon monoxide explanation fits.
Blum explains, “You might get headaches, you might feel a little groggier than usual. And depending on the chronic exposure, you can even become mentally-off, cognitively-impaired in some ways.” And Blum adds that, because carbon monoxide poisoning involves oxygen deprivation to the brain, it is possible to hallucinate.
Serious Effects
Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless -- invisible to the eye. This makes the gas a silent killer. When the body is exposed to it, the gas displaces oxygen in the blood, and this causes serious damage to the heart, brain, and vital organs.
Even a small exposure to CO can cause chest pains, fatigue, nausea, headaches, and vertigo. Some cases of CO poisoning even result in death. But how had she been misdiagnosed again and again?
Finally, An Answer
After years of searching for answers from specialists and healthcare professionals, Kathi had lost hope. But now, Kathi’s decade-long symptoms suddenly all made sense! The most unexpected visitors had finally given her an answer.
“I was shocked,” she exclaimed. Kathi had been suffering for so long from an unexplained illness, and it had left her in the physical condition of an old woman. But how could she ever thank them enough?
Lifechanging
“Over the years it kept getting worse and worse,” Ashley explained. When she heard that finally there was proof of her mother’s ailment, she was overjoyed. Now, Kathi would be able to function like a normal human being again.
After years of her mother being bed-bound, they would now be able to do all the things that they had missed out on — like going shopping or going out for dinner. But could she ever forgive the doctors after all the years of neglect?
Road To Recovery
Kathi hasn’t felt this good in years. She got so much more than just a new bathroom from the contractors — she got her life back.
She’s thrilled to have her body, mind, and spirit healed. “I feel great,” she said. “I haven’t been this happy in I can’t tell how long.” Kathi is well on her way to recovery after all the years of being exposed to poison, But there is still an element of concern to this story.
Starting Anew
Kathi wishes that she had pushed harder for a diagnosis. She had been called crazy, delusional, and a hypochondriac for a decade because the tests were negative.
She was prescribed the usual bed rest, exercise, or pills, but nothing helped. No one could give her the answers. But Kathi was right to trust her instincts. Even though she had to wait for 10 years for an answer, she is grateful. Kathi looks forward to her new-found energy and her new life, and she hopes that her story will raise awareness about the dangers of carbon monoxide.