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Roger Levell was put in a suit and hyperbolic chamber because of his exposure to carbon monoxide.

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Janet St. James reports

EPA: Carbon Monoxide

Carbon Monoxide Kills

DALLAS - After waking up with a terrible headache and nearly paralyzed, a North Texas man found himself Wednesday morning at Presbyterian Hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning.

"When I woke up this morning, I never thought I would end my day here," Roger Levell said as he sat in a submarine-like hyperbaric chamber.

However, Levell is lucky to be breathing at all.

"Fortunately, the phone was nearby and I reached over and called 911," he said when he woke up. "In about 10 minutes, the guys were there and got me out of there."

Doctors found nearly lethal levels of carbon monoxide in his blood. While Levell was sleeping, he was slowly asphyxiating.

"Biggest problem with carbon monoxide is that it's colorless, odorless and tasteless," said Dr. Jeff Stone. "And so, you have to have a high index of suspicion for carbon monoxide."

The gas kills nearly 4,000 Americans every year. Unlike Levell, many fall asleep and never wake up. Those who survive carbon monoxide poisoning could face long-term effects including brain damage.

Levell admits he didn't have his furnace checked before turning it on this season, and he doesn't have a carbon monoxide alarm that detects deadly air.

"I was just amazed," he said. "I should have done things at home that I didn't do, and I'm just very fortunate. I could not be here."

E-mail jstjames@wfaa.com