Karl's Day

January 16 it is Karl's Day in our house, since six years ago Karl saved our lives.  Karl normally slept thru the night, not even severe acid reflux woke him. On January 16, 2008 at 3:00 in the morning Karl woke up screaming, I tried to settle him down but he kept screaming. Since I was pregnant after a few minutes I had to go to the bathroom, after which I smelled oil really strong. I called my husband and he said to call the fire department. The fireman had me take the kids out of the house and put them in the car. They came in with a meter and the alarm went off, Carbon Monoxide was filling the house. Since Karl woke me early enough, there was no CM in our blood. They said if Karl hadn't woken us, we would have died that morning. So we have made January 16 Karl's Day since he is a hero.

I have been sharing this story for 6 years and now Karl is starting to share the story even though he does not understand it all. A few days ago he started to remind me that January 16 was Karl's day without anyone reminding him it was coming up.

Karl is a hero in so many ways, not only did he saved our lives that night but what he does everyday to come out of his shell, to overcome the limitations that Autism tries to put on him, makes him an incredible little boy, My Hero.