Fun With Family, Part 3

Everyone has a different point of view. I wanted to write about what happened after the 4 little ones left the houseboat.
I had been swimming in the back of the boat and on the side with the
kids for hours. We had been having a wonderful time. Marshall and Brian
had gone with Mack on his boat so were gone for a good chunk of the day.
After they got back, I changed my clothes and got Marshall ready for
bed. As I lay on the bottom bunk near the bathroom, I noticed my head
was hurting really bad but I thought nothing of it. It had just been a
long day and I thought I was tired. Nathan was complaining of being
tired too. He didn't want to take his medicines, he just wanted to go to
sleep. I made him get up and take his medicine and brush his teeth. I
was trying to calm Marshall down when I heard Angie call for help. I
thought she just needed help because the kids were being difficult. They
had been crying a lot while they were in the back room. I had my hands
full with my kids so I decided someone else could help. I did not know
what was about to happen. I heard someone say "Can we turn off the
generator? It's pulling fumes in here!" Someone killed the generator
while others grabbed the little children and got them to the front of
the houseboat. Brian told me he ran back and grabbed Lydia. She was
still conscious when he got back there and he told her to crawl to him.
He could see he wasn't going to get to the front with her very fast if
he waited to get through the hall so he ran around the side. As he got
near the front of the boat, she started passing out. He passed her off
to Brandon. As I stood on the front deck of the boat, I could see Angie
and others yelling the kids' names and yelling "They're passing out!!"
The next thing I knew, the kids were gone and the rest of us were told
to get off the boat. My head was hurting so bad I couldn't see straight.
I also felt really dizzy. Nathan was crying and saying he felt dizzy
too. Someone in the family got some chairs out to the beach for us to
sit on. I had someone else take Marshall down to the beach since I felt
so unstable. Once everyone was out on the beach, we decided to have a
family prayer. Brian said the prayer and he pleaded with the Lord to
help Lydia, Benson, Aubrielle, and Emmaline. Peter was on the radio and
asked if we needed the National Park Service to come check on the rest
of us. I knew my head was spinning but I thought I would be fine. It was
Angela Plaster I was worried about. Not only were her only 2 children
rushed to the clinic but she was feeling nauseous and had a headache
too. She is pregnant and due in October so I knew it was very important
that she get checked out. I have first hand experience with having a
premature baby and I wouldn't wish that on anyone!! When the NPS Rangers
finally arrived, they started checking everyone out. We all insisted
Angela be checked first and they immediately put her on oxygen. I
remember Ashlee had taken a really long nap earlier that day and so it
came as no surprise when she was put on oxygen too. Dallin was tired. He
told me he was going to take a nap and then wake up and play again. I
remember thinking it was strange that a child would WANT to take a nap
but I figured maybe Dallin is different than my kids. They checked
several others before they checked Nathan. He has asthma and he was
falling asleep sitting up. They immediately got him on oxygen as well. I
was shocked when they said he was 3rd priority. I didn't think he was
that bad off. One after another we were checked and the Ranger said
"You're going with us" over and over again. So we started getting
everyone on the Ranger's boat. I looked around at Ashlee and Abriana who
were crying and I could tell they were really scared. Stefanie and I got
them singing "I Am A Child of God." I knew we had to keep their minds
off what was going on. I felt it was important that we stay calm. It was
so hard ot sing that song without crying. I was so worried about the
little ones who had already been taken as well as worried about Angela.
My head was still spinning but I kept singing anyway. We sang other
primary songs and then our "family song". Nathan kept falling asleep so
I made him keep singing. It was a fast, scary ride on that boat in the
dark. Marshall was on my lap and screaming because the wind was getting
him. When we got to the dock, I had to pass him off to someone else
(which of course made him extremely upset) because I was feeling more
dizzy. When it was my turn to get off the boat, I had to have help
because I felt like I was going to fall over. Two people were helping me
walk up the doc but I kept feeling like I was going to pass out any second.
When I told the Ranger this, she made me sit down and got the stretcher.
The whole time, I was praying that the Lord please bless the children.
Both the ones who had come earlier and the ones just arriving. Once I
got on oxygen, I started feeling better but still sleepy. I kept asking
about my children as well as the others of our family. Nathan was in the
clinic receiving treatment so I could stop worrying so much about him.
Marshall had been tested and his Carbon Monoxide levels were low enough
that he didn't require treatment. After a while, I saw Lydia come out of
the clinic with a member of her family. I can't remember who it was but
I think it was her Dad, Jason. She was smiling and happy as she came
outside. What a wonderful relief to see her walking around. Once inside
the clinic, I was directed to sit on a bed next to Diane. I looked
around the room and saw all my family in there. After everyone had been
on oxygen for a while, it seemed like things settled down and we were
able to relax a little. I heard the nurses say that Kim was too happy to
be in need of oxygen so she got tested again and was released. It was
good to hear people laughing. Sometimes I think that's the best thing to
do in such a situation. If you can laugh, you can stop being so afraid.
If you can laugh, things must be better than they were when you arrived.
Maybe it means we were all in denial. Yes, we probably were. But that's
OK. We had just been through a major ordeal! We did not k,now if those
first 4 children were going to live or die. Oh, what a tragedy it would
have been to lose those precious children. Heavenly Father saw fit to
bless us with their presence a little longer and I am so very grateful
that He did.
As the days passed and we kept talking about what happened, Brian told
me something very interesting. The Ranger who came to investigate the
houseboat and the people at the clinic had said that the symptoms Lydia,
Aubrielle, Benson, and Emmy were having are not normally seen until the
levels of Carbon Monoxide in the blood are much higher. So why did they
react that way? I'm no scientist but I believe it was a miracle.
Sometimes miracles are not quite what you think they should be. I was
getting ready to go to bed when all this happened. Actually, we were all
getting the kids ready for bed. Had those children NOT shown the
symptoms they did, how would we have known we were all being poisoned?
There is a reason that Carbon Monoxide is called the silent killer. We
would have all gone to sleep and never woken up. I am SO VERY grateful
to Heavenly Father that the children got sick enough that we were able
to figure out what was going on and get everyone the help the needed. We
are TRULY blessed. It was not a stroke of luck. For me to call it luck
would be denying the miracle that God performed. Why do you think we
were watched over and cared for? I think it's because we always say our
family prayers asking God to protect us. We also had family members who
were not there who were praying for us. My mother-in-law, Judy, always
prays for her family. She also has been keeping our name on the prayer
roll at the Idaho Falls, Idaho temple. I am so grateful that we had
people praying for us and that God saw fit to protect us.