Nolan Young's Story
Nolan's Story

My beautiful third son, Nolan was born on Dec. 11, 2001. Nolan was an adorable, friendly, fun-loving boy. He loved the outdoors, especially camping. On Labour Day weekend 2013, my beautiful son died as he slept in the family van while on a camping trip. Arriving late at night, he was tired and chose to sleep in the van instead of setting up his tent.

With every window closed to avoid mosquitos, except one left open just a crack, he snuggled in. Nothing risky, nothing irresponsible...except for this time...this one time, the portable propane cooler sitting in the back of the van was forgotten. Every other time, the cooler was removed from the van as camp was set up.

This led to carbon monoxide filling the van undetected as Nolan slept, slowly taking his life.

I wish to share this story in the hopes that someone will remember Nolan and avoid a similar accident. There is great work being done to ensure prevention of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in the home. We have connected with the Hawkins-Gignac Foundation for CO Education and have set this website up to help raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning in the camping and recreational world.

Sincerely,

Yvette Young