Scary! Navel Piercing Goes Very Wrong

[psycostewie08]

A 13-year-old Boston girl is in critical condition after she pierced her own belly button and then suffered a severe infection that lasted weeks because her mother never sought medical assistance. By the time the child was brought to the hospital she was near death.

The Associated Press reports that the mother, Deborah Robinson, is now facing criminal charges for failing to get medical help for the girl whose weight had dropped to 75 pounds. Robinson faces up to five years in prison on a charge of wantonly and recklessly permitting substantial bodily injury to a child under 14, and up to two years in prison on a child endangerment charge. The mother, who claimed she was afraid doctors would sexually abuse her daughter, put the girl in diapers to soak up the fluids that oozed from her stomach, reports Reuters. The girl stopped eating and moving and lost all control of her bowels.

It was only after a 911 call brought paramedics to the family's apartment last Wednesday morning that the girl received medical care. By then, what had been just a small flesh wound had caused damage to several organs. The doctor who treated the girl at the hospital said she would have been in "incredible pain" within 24 hours of the onset of infection. He suspected she had been suffering for two to four weeks.

[DailyDi]

Yeah, heard about that this morning, very sad story!

[Guest]

That is HORRIBLE!

[BabyFreak]

That is messed up

[DollyDiaper]

I really hope this young girl recovers without permanent physical damage, although it doesn't sound very hopeful from the report.

Of course, we don't know if the mother's fear of doctors was irrational, whether it was based on personal experience, or if her claim was just a pathetic excuse for her neglect.

If the mother wasn't mentally ill, I would have thought that any fear of doctors would have been outweighed by serious concern at her daughter's deteriorating health, the weight loss and obvious pain and distress.

It's very sad, whatever the reason.

Dolly