When their babies are teething, parents will do almost anything to make them feel better. Let them chew on toys; frozen rags; warm rags; teething tablets; gels; and medicine. But one mom sadly lost her 6-month-old baby after she allegedly gave him a "lethal dose" of medicine to make the pain go away.
Authorities have determined that Tristan T. Goodwin, 31, gave her son, Tyler, a deadly combination of Benadryl and Tylenol. When EMS arrived at Goodwin's home, Tyler wasn't breathing, and he was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. According to Jeff Sims, Louisiana County Sheriff’s Lt, "Lab results indicated a lethal dose of Benadryl and high levels of Tylenol present in the baby’s body. Subsequent to the lab analysis detectives submitted additional items for forensic testing." Goodwin has since been arrested and charged with Involuntary Manslaughter and Child Abuse and Neglect. Sims said, "She has been cooperative. She’s been very upset about this. She has shown that she’s very upset which is why we don’t believe she intentionally tried to harm or kill her baby it was just a poor decision. That is why the charge is involuntary manslaughter." Brian Firth, the infant's father, added, "I don’t think she meant to do it. I know Tristan better than anyone else in this world including her own family."
Now, before everyone goes on a rant about how they'd never give their baby medicine, let's keep a few things in mind: One, a mother lost her infant, because of something she allegedly did. She has to live with that forever. And two, apparently Goodwin used Benadryl on her older children in the past. She was going on her parenting experience. No, giving medicine to babies isn't for everyone, but this is something she had done before, and it probably worked. Which is why she did it again. Regardless of what your parenting philosophies are, this is heartbreaking on so many levels.
If convicted on all charges, Goodwin faces up to 20 years in prison. But I don't think any sentence could possibly be worse than losing her child. And, please, parents, so this never happens again, always consult your doctor before administering medicine to your children.
What do you think of this? How do you help your teething baby?
Image via Patrick Norman/Corbis
