Traverse City, MI – A tragedy was avoided after a staff member with the Grand Traverse County Commission On Aging stopped a carbon monoxide leak from a gas stove.
A phone call from one of the commission’s Universal Aide workers, who found her client, Elsie Smith, and pet dog ill when making her weekly visit. The aide alerted officials to a possible problem.
“The symptoms sounded a lot like carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning to our RN, Emily Rice, who took the call. So she instructed the aide to open all the windows and we dispatched two staff members and called 911,” noted Laura Green, the commission’s deputy director.
An examination at Munson Medical Center’s emergency room confirmed the COA’s suspicions. Both the client and her pet, that was taken to the veterinarian, were suffering from CO poisoning. Smith had also been suffering from a severe Urinary Tract Infection.
“Team Bob’s,” a local HVAC contractor, confirmed the gas stove was faulty.
After a weekend at the hospital, the client was reunited with her dog. Both Elsie and her dog are doing well now, Laura says.
As a result of the incident, Elsie’s family has purchased CO detectors throughout the home and her downstate niece has bought a new stove.
“We just now need a way to transport the stove here,” said Laura.
The niece lives in Burton near Flint.
Leslie Gerou, Elsie’s daughter, who also lives in Burton, thanked COA staff for saving her Mother’s life. “Mom is always talking about the ‘girls’ (COA staff),” she said. “The staff was on top of the situation, taking care of the crisis and even taking care of her sick dog, ‘Misha.’ I don’t know what she’d do without her dog.”