A Boston mom now has to take her 4-year-old child to the hospital for extensive blood testing after he stepped on a needle at a park’s play area in the city. Because of the horrifying incident, which happened during a birthday party, the child is taking multiple different medications daily for 28 days to prevent HIV, the Boston Herald reported. The child’s mom, Caroline Flynn, told the newspaper that the needle her child stepped on also had “leftover blood” in it.
While Flynn and her kids were at the birthday party, she heard her 4-year-old scream.
When the mom went to help him, she found a needle sticking out of his foot. She’s now warning other parents and urging the city of Boston to take the issue more seriously because she “never thought it would happen to (her) kid, and it did.” Flynn described the situation as “stressful, frustrating, (and) traumatizing” when speaking to the Boston Herald, and although it happened a couple of weeks ago, the family’s anxiety has not subsided.
Her child still needs to be monitored.
Immediately after the mom found the needle, she took her child to the emergency room. The 4-year-old is “still not in the clear,” however, as he needs more blood testing to rule out any issues. “Every day not knowing if he caught anything from this incident has been stressful,” Flynn told the Herald. Additionally, getting her child to successfully take his required medication has been a challenge for the family because he has trouble swallowing it.
A city spokesperson has spoken up.
Per the news outlet, a City of Boston spokesperson said the city is aware of the issue and is trying to address it. “Discarded needles on our city streets and public spaces are unacceptable, and no family should have to worry about their children’s safety with this distressing situation,” the spokesperson said.
The representative explained that the city has a “Mobile Sharps Team,” which is tasked with making “daily sweeps in public spaces” and “quickly pick(ing) up any needles reported to 311.”
The horrified mom told the Herald that “the most frustrating part about [it] is that it should have never happened.”
