Couple believe will power, divine intervention saved them


Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

BOUNTIFUL — A Bountiful couple says their chance, improbable rescue from a near-fatal carbon monoxide poisoning in their home is due to sheer will power with a big assist from divine intervention.

First, David and April Weeks can't explain how they were able to low crawl 30 feet to their front door — which is normally locked at 5:30 in the morning — and lay in the threshold of the doorway, in pitch black and be spotted by a passer-by.

Even Heather Adair, who was out for a run that Friday, can't explain why she took that route for the first time. She happened to see the stricken look on April Weeks' face as she lay in the doorway and knew that something was terribly wrong.

After a day of helping neighbors' battle the aftermath of a hurricane force wind that knocked out power to thousands, David Week had a generator set up in an exterior tool shed attached to the side of their home.

The shed door was open to provide ventilation and 40-foot extension cord ran from the generator to the freezer and refrigerator to keep them running. No doors, no windows were open. Their bedroom is on the opposite side of the house from the shed — and on a different level.

David Weeks said he was exhausted and by 10 that evening was in bed. His wife soon followed.

At 4:30 a.m., he awakened with a start and could tell something was wrong.

"I turned to April and said, 'We're in trouble. We've got carbon monoxide in here and we've got to get out of here."

David Weeks said he believes he pushed his wife out of bed. He fell out of bed.

"But we couldn't lift our heads," he said. "We couldn't crawl. We couldn't stand. Couldn't walk. Couldn't do anything."

Still, he said he was able to half push half tug his wife toward the front door. It seemed to take forever.

"I was in the military and a low crawl is not pleasant let alone an hour of it with an elephant sitting on me," he said.

April Weeks said she doesn't believe she would have survived if not for her husband's stubborn prodding.

"I really just wanted to go to sleep."

David Weeks isn't quite sure how they made it either.

"Will power ... will power plus God-granted energy," he said. "There is divine intervention, absolutely without question. Basically you are suffocating and to be able to have that kind of endurance and that kind of will power to make that — it can't come from any other source than the divine."

The Weeks' say fire officials believe the deadly gas somehow permeated through the walls of their home, building up over the hours enough to severely sicken and disorient the couple. After being spotted by Adair, the Weeks were rushed to nearby hospital, treated and later released that same day. While they are fighting the lingering after effects of headaches and lethargy, they know it could be much, much worse.

Why he awakened and how they were able to crawl to the help of a happenstance rescuer leads them to believe they have more work to do on this Earth.

"Knowing we weren't supposed to go yet," she said. "Knowing there is something more for us to do. And it's together."

David and April Weeks, holding hands for the length of the interview, tighten their grip a bit.

"We've always promised each other we'd go together," he said. "but this wasn't our time."

Email:aodonoghue@ksl.com

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Amy Joi O'Donoghue

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast