An influencer has been rushed to hospital after a brush with death from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Valerie Gumster, better known online as Val’s Closet, was admitted to hospital along with her family.
She, her husband Edwin, their three-year-old daughter Luna, and her three stepchildren, aged 15, 11, and 10, all felt symptoms at home on Tuesday morning (27 Jan).
The social media star, who has 404,000 TikTok fans and 162,000 Instagram followers, said the two eldest children complained of headaches and dizziness.
Her husband then took the four children to school, leaving Valerie at home on her own.
Valerie was then startled by a loud noise 20 minutes later.
“At first, I thought it was the alarm at the front of the house going off,” she told Need To Know.
“But that wasn’t the source of the noise and I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.
“Only after I’d walked through the entire house did I notice a red light on the carbon monoxide detector.
“In that moment, I should have realised the danger, but instead I wanted to figure out how to turn the detector off.
“I became increasingly dizzy and I started to cough and gag.
“I tried to call my husband first, but he didn’t answer.
“Then I decided to call the fire station, but I had trouble understanding the receptionist who answered the phone.
“I assumed it was the connection, but the doctor said afterwards that I probably wasn’t thinking clearly enough to have a normal conversation.
“Within a few minutes, eight firefighters were at my door.
“In the meantime, I went outside, but I still didn’t realise how dangerous the situation was.”
The Dutch influencer was rushed to hospital in an ambulance and given an IV to help with her symptoms.
The 31-year-old went on: “I was especially worried about the children, they were at school but they had been complaining of illness that morning.
“I immediately felt like a bad mother.”
In hospital, Valerie wore an oxygen mask to help her breathe better and blood tests were taken to determine the severity of the situation.
“Fortunately, I started feeling better after a few hours,” said Valerie, who lives in Amstelveen, Netherlands.
“The rest of the family checked in at the hospital shortly afterwards.
“The four girls were all fine.
“They left the house for school, but I stayed inside for at least another 20 minutes before the alarm went off.”
After an afternoon in hospital, the whole family was allowed to return home.
The influencer said: “The coast was clear, but we didn’t sleep well.
“I opened the vents and windows in every room.”
However, Valerie is still at a loss as to what could have caused the carbon monoxide poisoning.
She explained that it wasn’t their boiler as they only replaced it two years ago and it had recently been inspected.
“We don’t yet know how it originated, research is under way here.
“More tests will be carried out tomorrow to determine the cause.”
Carbon monoxide (CO) is odourless and tasteless, but it is highly toxic.
In the Netherlands, an average of 10 to 15 people die from acute carbon monoxide poisoning every year.
In cases of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, it is advisable to open doors and windows and call the emergency services as soon as possible.
Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors should be installed on every level in a house, ideally between five and 20 feet from fuel-burning appliances and outside sleeping areas.
Valeria said her detector, which had only been installed five weeks previously, probably saved her life.
“Many people see installing one as a chore,” she added.
“We felt the same way, until a handy friend suggested it was wise to install it.
“After all, we have a family with four children.
“I’m eternally grateful to him because I now seen that a carbon monoxide detector can save lives.
“Carbon monoxide is a silent killer: you smell, feel, and see nothing. Until it’s too late.
“We got away with it.”
