Christmas Miracle(Timothy Lanham) A Christmas Miracle:

The Story of December 22, 1999

It was 25 years ago, on a bitterly cold morning in Fort Collins, Colorado—December 22, 1999—that our family experienced a miracle. Temperatures had plummeted to -22°F, and for days, the highs hadn’t crept above zero. That day began like any other, but it ended with us feeling profoundly blessed, knowing God had been watching over us.

I awoke early, around 5:00 a.m., preparing for a drive to Glenwood Springs to explore the possibility of purchasing another pawnshop. As I got ready, our daughter Stacey had climbed into bed with us, complaining that she didn’t feel well. Wanting my wife, Wendy, to get a proper rest, I asked Stacey to return to her room in the walkout basement. Shortly after, I noticed a splitting headache as I showered. Ignoring it, I got dressed and hit the road.
An hour and a half into my drive, I received a garbled call from Wendy. She sounded disoriented, mentioned something about carbon monoxide, and then the call abruptly ended. When I tried to call back to the house, a fireman answered. He told me my family had been rushed to the hospital by ambulance and that I should stop at the nearest hospital to get checked for carbon monoxide poisoning myself. Alarmed, I did as instructed, received oxygen treatment, and then drove back to Fort Collins, praying the whole way.

Back at Home

The events that unfolded at home were harrowing. Wendy woke that morning to check on Stacey, who was supposed to cover a managerial shift at one of our pawnshops. Leaning over the staircase, Wendy saw Stacey at the bottom, looking pale and unwell. Stacey explained she’d been falling in the shower and felt nauseous. Wendy reassured her, but before she could do much else, she fainted, hitting her head on the slate floor.

When Wendy regained consciousness, Stacey had crawled upstairs. Wendy tried to move but fainted again. Finally, they made it to the living room, where our son Josh came out of his room, alarmed by the commotion. Wendy managed to tell him that she and Stacey were sick, and they needed to find someone to cover Stacey’s shift. Josh called our neighbor, Jennifer Hobbs, asking her to feed the horses and mentioning how sick his mom and sister were. Jennifer, sensing something was wrong, asked, “Could it be carbon monoxide poisoning?”
Josh repeated her words aloud, and Stacey—recognizing the symptoms from a recent college class discussion—sprang into action. Despite her weakened state, she ran to the front door and flung it open, letting the frigid air rush in. That quick-thinking act likely saved all their lives. Then Josh called 911, they called the fire department, which dispatched an ambulance.

The family, including our youngest daughter Jessica and the dogs, bundled into the car and drove to Jennifer’s house. From there the ambulance transported them to the hospital. Josh and Jessica received oxygen, while Stacey and Wendy were placed in a hyperbaric chamber to flush the dangerous levels of carbon monoxide from their blood.

What Went Wrong
Later, the fire department discovered the source of the poisoning: the flue for our boiler had frozen shut due to condensation, causing deadly fumes to fill the house. The firemen told us they had never recorded such high levels of carbon monoxide in a home before and estimated that my family had only about two and a half minutes before they would have passed out permanently. It was nothing short of a miracle that they survived.

Counting Our Blessings
That night, we stayed in a hotel, grateful to be alive, and celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. The next day, we had a fan installed in the boiler flue to prevent future blockages and added four carbon monoxide detectors throughout the house. We also called every friend and family member we knew, urging them to install detectors in their homes.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a silent killer because it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, making it undetectable without a CO detector. What makes it so deadly is its interaction with hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body.
When carbon monoxide is inhaled, it binds to hemoglobin with a much greater affinity than oxygen—approximately 200 times stronger. This creates carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), effectively displacing oxygen from the bloodstream. As oxygen levels in the blood plummet, tissues and cells become starved of oxygen, leading to hypoxia (oxygen deficiency).
Vital organs such as the brain, heart, and muscles are particularly vulnerable to oxygen deprivation. The brain may begin to shut down, causing confusion, disorientation, or loss of consciousness. The heart, which relies on oxygen to pump blood effectively, can fail under the strain, leading to arrhythmias or cardiac arrest. If the deprivation continues, irreversible damage or death can occur.
Even at lower levels of exposure, carbon monoxide poisoning can lead to symptoms like headaches, dizziness, nausea, and fatigue. At higher levels, it can cause serious damage, including neurological issues, organ failure, or death.

Wendy had the highest carbon monoxide levels in her blood, followed closely by Stacey.
In Wendy’s case, her high carbon monoxide levels explain the prolonged joint pain she experienced for a year after the incident. The lingering effects are a reminder of how close our family came to tragedy and the importance of recognizing and preventing carbon monoxide exposure.
That day, we were reminded of the fragility of life and the power of divine intervention.

A Miracle to Remember
Looking back, we see the hand of God in every moment of that terrifying day—in Stacey’s knowledge from her college class, Jennifer’s intuition, and the strength it took for my family to get out of the house in time. Twenty-five years later, we still share this story, not just as a cautionary tale but as a testament to God’s grace.
Our family is deeply grateful to be here, and each year, we celebrate this day as a miracle—a reminder of the blessings we have and the faith that carried us through.

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