Barnaby by Camy

[Altimexis]

Baranaby is a story with an interesting plot twist. Initially I felt certain that Barnaby was an imaginary friend. I won’t spoil the fun by saying who he is, but the ending is certainly different. 
 

I’m sorry to bring it up, but carbon monoxide is a poison and not an asphyxiant. It doesn’t kill by displacing oxygen, but rather by binding to hemoglobin irreversibly. Carbon monoxy-hemoglobin is brilliant red in color - even redder than oxy-hemoglobin; hence a victim’s lips are redder than normal and not blue. Lipstick-red lips are a bad sign. The other thing is that victims won’t recover if you simply remove them from the carbon monoxide. You have to replace the poisoned hemoglobin and that can only be done by transfusion.  If you ever find someone who’s suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, by all means, get them to fresh air first, but then call 911 or the equivalent. 

[Camy]

1 hour ago, Altimexis said:

I’m sorry to bring it up, but carbon monoxide is a poison and not an asphyxiant. It doesn’t kill by displacing oxygen, but rather by binding to hemoglobin irreversibly. Carbon monoxy-hemoglobin is brilliant red in color - even redder than oxy-hemoglobin; hence a victim’s lips are redder than normal and not blue. Lipstick-red lips are a bad sign. The other thing is that victims won’t recover if you simply remove them from the carbon monoxide. You have to replace the poisoned hemoglobin and that can only be done by transfusion.  If you ever find someone who’s suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, by all means, get them to fresh air first, but then call 911 or the equivalent. 

Thank you! And now I know.

Research is invaluable, assumptions useless. Also, it's obvious why I failed Biology A level.

 

[Altimexis]

Or you could read Robin Cook’s 1977 book, Coma, his first successful novel. That’s Robin Cook, the American physician turned novelist, not Robin Cook, the British politician. The story and subsequent movie, which starred a young Michael Douglas, involved a ruthless chief of surgery who deliberately put patients into a coma and sold their organs. He did it using carbon monoxide, unwittingly administered by the anesthesiologist during surgery, because it left the tissues looking a super-healthy red. The surgeon who did the actual surgery thus never suspected a thing.