Our Chanukah Miracle
Dear Editor,
This Chanukah, we would like to once again share our personal Chanukah miracle that occurred to us, the Korman family from Far Rockaway, last year on Shabbos Chanukah. We hope that with your help we can spread the lesson of this story and ultimately save lives. A freilechen Chanukah to all!
Some of you may know who we are and some may not, but our identity is not of importance because this story could be about you. All day Friday [of Chanukah], my wife and I walked around complaining of headaches and feeling quite tired. We made no big deal of it, as we are blessed with a 3-month-old who likes to keep us up at night. Friday night we thought to ourselves, “Wow, our little munchkin must be growing,” as she was waking up more than usual, making sure we didn’t sleep much.
At about 6 a.m., during our infant feeding hour, our 5-year-old daughter let out a wild scream. We ran into her room to see what was wrong. As we approached her, she looked at us with crazed eyes and screamed again, and then her body went limp. We took her to the bathroom, where she began to retch. After vomiting, she was slowly able to stand and move her body. She then complained of a headache, so naturally, like any Jewish parent, we gave her a wet shmatta for her head and took her temperature. As we were about to call Hatzalah, our very calm and loving 8-year-old son screamed, at the top of his lungs, “I can’t take the crying!” (referring, of course, to our baby whom we had left to fend for herself).
We ran to his room and found him drenched in sweat, unable to stand, and retching. Naturally we ran him to the bathroom. Our 5-year-old wanted to see what was happening so she got off the couch, and as soon as she got into the bathroom, vomited again, passed out, and once again was unable to move her body.
We called Hatzalah, who we are so grateful to, and within minutes they were in our house measuring the oxygen saturation of our children. Suddenly, the paramedic yelled, “Everyone out of the house and into the ambulance now!” We had carbon-monoxide poisoning!
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless poisonous gas, and many people who are exposed to it don’t survive to talk about their experience. We did not have functional carbon-monoxide detectors at the time; Hashem was truly watching over our family. When someone goes through such a situation, he is left with the feeling of “What do I do with this? Where do I channel it?” We have decided to take it upon ourselves to share our story and educate the public to ensure that this will never happen to others.
We therefore ask you to check to make sure you have working, non-expired carbon-monoxide detectors with backup batteries. Call your alarm company to make sure you are covered for carbon monoxide, and of course pass this lesson along to family and friends.
May we only know and share in many simchas.
The Kormans

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