MICHIGAN CITY – “Keep her alive. Keep her alive,” screamed a helpless April Scott Shoppa into the phone. On the other end of the line was her husband, Mike, holding their daughter, Alexandria “Alex”, as she drifted in and out of consciousness as they awaited emergency medical services.
The Marquette Catholic High School junior’s grave condition began the night before. She and her “maw maw,” 72-year-old Missy Malone, enjoyed a Saturday evening together, treating themselves to ice cream sandwiches and Oreos as they watched the television program, “Cops,” unaware there was a killer amongst them, creeping through the home without detection.
The next day, relatives would discover Malone deceased and Alex clinging to life, victims of the silent killer that stalked them throughout the night - carbon monoxide.
“I was holding her as she looked up and then tried going back to sleep. I yelled at her to look at me, look at me,” said Mike. “I realized it was dire, this is it…the last gasp.”
Alex said she could hear his voice. “I tried to say something, but no words came out. My body wouldn’t move.”
“He really thought he was holding his girl for one last time,” said April Scott Shoppa, Alex’s mom. “Do you know how lucky we are to still have Alex with us? We are so thankful and blessed to still have her here with us. It was God’s intervention.”.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas formed by the incomplete combustion of fuels. Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when carbon monoxide builds up in the blood. The body replaces the oxygen in the red blood cells with carbon monoxide, resulting in serious tissue damage, or even death.
Mike said the CO level in the home was over 500 parts per million. At that level, physical symptoms occur within 45 minutes, unconsciousness in two hours, and death occurs in 2-3 hours.
This isn’t the first time the Marquette family suffered a carbon monoxide tragedy. In February 2022, Marquette graduate Jalen Russell’s parents, Harrison Russell, 60, and Barbara Russell, 56 were found deceased in their LaPorte County home. Jalen’s brother was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition, but survived
April and Alex “adopted” Malone when the two lived in Louisiana and Alex was a baby. The Shoppas, who now reside in Valparaiso, frequently visited Malone.
When the Shoppas arrived at Malone’s home this past June, the electricity was out. A generator outside Malone’s home was started, as it has in the past many years to supply the trailer home with electricity. This time, however, humid air and wind conditions coming from just the right direction directed fumes through an opening into the home. As the air conditioning circulated cool, refreshing air, it circulated the deadly fumes as well.
The two went to bed near midnight. Alex recalled being awakened about 2 a.m. by the light still on in her room. She remembered not feeling well as she got up to turn off the light. “Once my feet hit the floor, I got really dizzy. I had to grab the wall and the bed, then slide over to the light switch then back into bed. I felt so dizzy, I thought it was vertigo,” said Alex.
Once she was back in bed, she heard Malone crying out for her late husband. The crying and calling out suddenly fell silent and Alex passed out soon after. A photo taken by Malone at roughly 2 a.m. was found on her cellphone. The photo shows her feet and an unidentified white light to the left of her foot.
The pair was discovered nearly twelve hours later by a relative of Malone. It was obvious Malone was deceased and the relative initially thought Alex was gone as well, until he noticed her twitch. The relative, Cace Malone, rushed inside to pull out Alex. Soon after, Mike arrived at the scene from the nearby hotel where he and April were staying.
Alex was rushed to a nearby regional hospital, where she was stabilized before being airlifted to a New Orleans hospital where hyperbaric oxygen treatment was available.
Doctors initially had little hope for Alex, but the spunky, young girl proved everyone wrong. Mike described how she started coming around about an hour after treatment at the first hospital began. She manipulated her way out of the restraints and tried to pull the breathing tube out and managed to pull her IV out.
As Alex became more coherent, Mike convinced the doctor to remove the tube and let her try breathing on her own. Within a few minutes of removing the tube, Alex began to whisper, eventually was able to softly talk. She successfully answered detailed questions to the amazement of everyone.
The doctors cautioned the parents that Alex was not out of the woods yet. Damage to the internal organs was still unknown and she could still require lifelong kidney dialysis and possibly a colostomy bag. Her lab results were off the chart.
Once stabilized and transferred to the second hospital, Alex was subjected to a series of hyperbaric oxygen treatments. The treatments helped oxygenate her blood by placing her in an oxygen enriched tube with nearly 48 pounds of pressure on her body for 90 minutes.
Alex shocked everyone as she walked out of the hospital days after her near-death encounter. “It’s a miracle and God’s mercy that she, within a few days, was walking out of the hospital and ornery, being a typical teenage girl. I've never been so happy. There is no doubt He saved her,” said Mike.
The family shared how the prayers of many helped them through the darkest days of their lives.
“I told Alex, God has a reason for her to still be here today. We’re not sure what God has in store for her, but I know it’s something big, something great,” said April.
Alex said the experience has taught her to appreciate the small things in life, like the little teddy bear Band-Aids used for her IV that brought her joy. “I’m not going to overstress myself about the little things. There are bigger things to worry about,” Alex explained.
The bubbly, happy-go-lucky, high-energy teen picked up where she left off at the start of the school year. As Marquette’s No. 2 golfer, she helped the team advance to the 2023 regionals. She and the members of the school’s drama department just finished the school’s fall play.
Alex shed a little light on what she feels she’s being called to do. “I’ll use my story to teach people about God. How I shouldn’t have made it through everything that happened, but there is a God and He’s here for you too.”
Alex and her family want to stress one message, one that could mean the difference between life or death.
“Get a carbon monoxide monitor. It’s $15…or risk losing a life,” said Alex.