Red
07-30-2002, 09:33 AM
JULY 30, 08:07 ET
Stepdad Accused in Feed Tube Death
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A 7-year-old boy with a rare medical condition was admitted to the hospital with a potentially deadly blood-alcohol level after his stepfather allegedly fed him vodka through a medical feeding tube.
Officials at Kosair Children's Hospital would not release the boy's condition, but his mother, Cherie Glover, said the child was in stable condition Monday night.
The child arrived at the hospital Saturday with a 0.59 percent blood-alcohol level — almost double the amount considered fatal in adults. It's more than seven times the level at which a person is considered drunk.
``That's just a whopping amount,'' said Jefferson County Coroner Richard Greathouse, who is a pediatrician. ``It's totally, totally outrageous.''
Chris Harmon was charged with first-degree criminal abuse and was being held in the Jefferson County Jail.
Glover said her son was born with Vacteral syndrome, a cluster of birth defects that can affect the vertebrae, anal area, limbs, esophagus, and heart and liver function.
She said the boy, who has a tracheal tube and is fed through a gastrointestinal bag, couldn't sleep without special medication. But they stopped buying the medication recently, after the health care program she used stopped paying for it. Without the medication, she said, her son would scream and cry through the night.
Police said Monday the child's blood-alcohol content remained at 0.20 — still more than double the 0.08 level at which someone is considered drunk under Kentucky law.
With a 0.59 blood-alcohol level, the child would likely have suffered damage to his kidneys, heart and central nervous system, Greathouse said.
``(An adult) would have very, very severe brain damage from the effects of that amount of alcohol,'' he said. ``The damage on a 7-year-old child would be double or triple that in an adult.''
Stepdad Accused in Feed Tube Death
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A 7-year-old boy with a rare medical condition was admitted to the hospital with a potentially deadly blood-alcohol level after his stepfather allegedly fed him vodka through a medical feeding tube.
Officials at Kosair Children's Hospital would not release the boy's condition, but his mother, Cherie Glover, said the child was in stable condition Monday night.
The child arrived at the hospital Saturday with a 0.59 percent blood-alcohol level — almost double the amount considered fatal in adults. It's more than seven times the level at which a person is considered drunk.
``That's just a whopping amount,'' said Jefferson County Coroner Richard Greathouse, who is a pediatrician. ``It's totally, totally outrageous.''
Chris Harmon was charged with first-degree criminal abuse and was being held in the Jefferson County Jail.
Glover said her son was born with Vacteral syndrome, a cluster of birth defects that can affect the vertebrae, anal area, limbs, esophagus, and heart and liver function.
She said the boy, who has a tracheal tube and is fed through a gastrointestinal bag, couldn't sleep without special medication. But they stopped buying the medication recently, after the health care program she used stopped paying for it. Without the medication, she said, her son would scream and cry through the night.
Police said Monday the child's blood-alcohol content remained at 0.20 — still more than double the 0.08 level at which someone is considered drunk under Kentucky law.
With a 0.59 blood-alcohol level, the child would likely have suffered damage to his kidneys, heart and central nervous system, Greathouse said.
``(An adult) would have very, very severe brain damage from the effects of that amount of alcohol,'' he said. ``The damage on a 7-year-old child would be double or triple that in an adult.''