26.05.2026 08:30
Two years ago in Sakarya, 45-year-old Yasin Kurt's life changed overnight after he fell asleep inside his car following a cleaning of the seats. Poisoned by chemical fumes and carbon monoxide gas, Kurt survived the process doctors said he wouldn't, but lost 90 percent of his eyesight. Now the father of two, who wants to work and produce again, shares his experience and hopes for a new job opportunity.
45-year-old Yasin Kurt, while serving as a marketing manager overseeing 300 personnel in Gaziantep, moved to Sakarya with his family two years ago after his company went bankrupt. In November 2024, while cleaning his car's seats in front of his home in Sakarya, Kurt decided to wait inside the vehicle due to a sudden downpour.
HE CLEANED THE SEATS, TURNED ON THE HEATER, AND FELL ASLEEP
Kurt, who started the car and turned on the heater to dry the cleaned seats quickly, fell asleep due to the chemical fumes rising in the enclosed space. The unfortunate man slept for about two hours in the running car, inhaling chemical gases from the heater and potentially leaked exhaust from the old-model vehicle, also affected by low blood levels at the time. Upon waking, Kurt felt no immediate ill effects and went home to take a routine shower. The next day, Yasin Kurt woke up with severe stabbing pain in his back and was taken to the hospital.
HE ALMOST COMPLETELY LOST HIS SIGHT
The man's condition rapidly worsened, and he was intubated. Doctors said, "He won't survive, 99 percent chance he won't wake up." Kurt spent 2 days in intensive care at a Sakarya hospital. After waking up in the ward, Kurt realized he had almost completely lost his vision. Clinical examinations revealed that due to the evaporation of cleaning chemicals exposed to high heat in the enclosed vehicle and carbon monoxide seeping in, oxygen and nitrogen in his blood had swapped places, causing severe "toxic poisoning."
TREATMENT PROCESS CONTINUES
After the severe poisoning that restricted his mobility and caused vision loss, Yasin Kurt moved to Eskişehir with his family for continued treatment. Kurt underwent intensive cortisone therapy for 10 days at Eskişehir City Hospital, which partially restored motor movement ability in his body. His vision level, which had dropped to zero, was raised to 5 percent in the left eye and 2 percent in the right eye through extensive efforts. Kurt, a father of two with 90 percent visual impairment, stated he has been working nonstop since age 11 and never gave up being productive, and is now looking for a new job.
"OXYGEN AND NITROGEN IN THE BLOOD SWAPPED PLACES, I EXPERIENCED TOXIC POISONING"
Yasin Kurt recounted the start of the incident in November 2024 in Sakarya, those critical two hours in the car, and his life-and-death struggle in the hospital with these words:
"The incident occurred in November 2024, almost two years ago. The weather was cloudy and it was about to rain. Because I love detailed cleaning, I started wiping my car's seats with cleaning chemicals. Just as women meticulously clean their homes, men give their cars that same detailed cleaning. As I finished wiping the seats, it started raining. Instead of running into the building complex, I chose to stay in the car. I started the car and turned on the heater to dry the wet seats. Although I normally don't have sleep problems, I fell asleep in the car for about one to two hours that day. At that time, my blood levels were also very low due to hemorrhoids. After waking up, I went home and took a shower; everything seemed routine. But the next day, I felt a very severe pain in my back, like two daggers stabbing me. I told my wife we had to go to the hospital immediately. I had no idea at that moment what was happening to me. When we arrived at the hospital, they urgently intubated me because I could no longer breathe. In the initial diagnosis, they determined that oxygen and nitrogen in my blood had swapped places and I was experiencing toxic poisoning."
"THEY SAID THERE WAS A 99 PERCENT CHANCE I WOULDN'T WAKE UP AGAIN"
Kurt, whom doctors gave a 1 percent chance of survival, said about the hospital process, "I was intubated for two days at Sakarya Research Hospital. Doctors told my family, 'This man won't survive, there's a 99 percent chance he won't wake up again.' But by the grace of God, my Lord granted me to my two children. When He says 'be,' everything happens. When I woke up, at first I saw everything as pure white. There was a serious problem with my eyes, and I felt great pain like hornet stings all over my body; my mobility was extremely limited. Since I had never been used to hospital environments until age 40, I couldn't stay there any longer and we returned home," he said.
"IF I CAN BE ACTIVE AND PRODUCE, I WILL RECOVER MUCH FASTER"
Referring to his current condition after cortisone treatment in Eskişehir, his disability rate, and his desire to return to work, Kurt said, "Later, I came here with my mother to continue the treatment process in Eskişehir. I received intensive cortisone therapy for ten days at Eskişehir City Hospital. This treatment increased my mobility to a certain extent, but my vision loss had completely dropped to zero at that time; I couldn't see anything. After the cortisone therapy was completed, my vision slowly started to return. Currently, I have 5 percent vision in my left eye and 2 percent in my right eye. This process shows a trend towards improvement over time. As a result, I am now 90 percent visually impaired. In the one and a half years that have passed, I haven't been able to work; although certain situations like disability retirement have come up, I am only 45 years old. I feel much more productive and dynamic than my age. I am a man who loves to work and produce. I want to work economically, earn by deserving the reward of my labor, support my family, and achieve something for myself; I think it's still too early to live my life passively. At this stage, since the therapeutic aspect is complete, I am mainly receiving vitamin-supported treatment. I can feel my body renewing itself, and I know I am getting better every day. If I can work and produce actively instead of sitting at home or wandering aimlessly outside, I believe this will psychologically speed up my recovery process much more. Alhamdulillah, I am better today than yesterday, and I know I will be much better in the future. There can be many situations where medicine has no answers and is wrong. People's physical structures and resistances are very different; I have a strong constitution, I am recovering, and I have full faith that I will get better and better," he said.