ELK POINT, SD -
With Siouxland weather reaching close to 100 degrees this week, you may want to cool off in a pool, maybe even an indoor pool.
One family in Elk Point learned the hard way that sometimes an indoor pool is even more dangerous than an outdoor pool.
15 year old Kerrey Jorgensen of Elk Point has a daily routine: spraying weeds in the hot sun.
The reward for her sweat and hard work? A relaxing jump in the pool with her boyfriend afterwards.
But something was different this time.
"Our heart started racing," said Jorgensen, "and I couldn't catch my breath and my head started hurting. I was just hunched over in pain."
Her boyfriend suggested she put her feet in the water; after all, it could have been from the heat. But the pain persisted, and she eventually passed out, nearly falling head first into the water.
Her boyfriend, Steven caught her just in time, but then he also started feeling strange, so he made his way to the house.
"He just kind of had a dazed look on his face," said Kerrey's mom, Noreen Jorgensen. "He collapsed on my floor, and he said, I don't know what's happening but Kerrey needs help."
Noreen called 911, and within minutes, an ambulance arrived.
Steven and Kerrey had been poisoned by carbon monoxide.
The source turned out to be a furnace that had been left on.
Noreen says she won't let that happen ever again, and has invested in carbon monoxide detectors.
"I went to the Wal–Mart in Vermillion and bought out their inventory, so I have 5 of them in the house, and one out here in the pool house," she said.
As for Kerrey, she's just happy to be alive, and doesn't let her near death experience scare her.
"It's not focusing on the bad things, it's focusing on the good things, and it's really, if you know the causes, the symptoms, and how to prevent it, than I think that nothing like that could happen again, cause that is scary," Kerrey said. "We know how lucky we were but some people may not be that lucky again."
The most common signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are: headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.
If you are experiencing these symptoms, make sure you get help before it's too late.
