Ten-year-old boy dies in bed after mum mistook carbon monoxide poisoning for the flu
A 10-year-old boy died of carbon monoxide poisoning after being sent to bed with flu-like symptoms while on holiday.
Gavin Klebs was staying in a cabin with his mother and sister near Big Lake, Alaska, when he began vomiting.
His mother, Sarah Klebs, believed he had the flu virus, as his sister Caroline had already complained of headaches.
The family went to bed, believing they had caught a bug. The next day, the three were found unresponsive in the cabin from carbon monoxide, which has no smell or taste.
Ms Klebs and her daughter were found in bed and taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center on 20 August, before being flown to Seattle for hyperbaric chamber oxygen treatment.
Gavin did not survive.
Investigators found a faulty propane-powered fridge had leaked carbon monoxide into the home as the three slept.
The family had not yet installed a carbon monoxide detector in the cabin but said they planned to do so in winter.
Ms Klebs said she believed her son and daughter had caught the flu and did not realise they were being poisoned.
“Prior to this, I never would have thought about it,” she told Alaska Dispatch News.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause dizziness, nausea, tiredness and confusion, as well as loss of consciousness and seizures.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for the Klebs family.
