After reportedly using nicotine patches on a 4-year-old in her care in an attempt to address his behavioral problems, a woman from El Paso County is being charged with child abuse.
Tammy Eddings-Dion, 53, is charged with felony child abuse and offenses against an at-risk adolescent, per an arrest document. According to the affidavit, Eddings-Dion was responsible for a 4-year-old kid on April 3 until a family member picked him up. According to the affidavit, the youngster was very drowsy and started throwing up after being picked up.
The youngster was nearly unconscious when he was brought to the hospital; he was unable to hold his head up or remain awake. A nicotine patch was discovered on the boy’s leg when he was in the hospital. After receiving treatment for nicotine poisoning, the family member discovered another patch on the boy’s back that had been overlooked at the hospital the day after he was released.
Given that Eddings-Dion was allegedly certain that nicotine would resolve the youngster’s behavioral problems, the family member thought that Eddings-Dion had applied the patch to the boy. The document indicates that the boy has the brain development of a two-year-old, however the diagnosis is withheld. He “has trouble understanding social cues, struggles to form complete sentences, exhibits repetitive behaviors, has sensitivity to loud noises, has trouble adjusting to new places, and has continued behavioral episodes due to not being able to regulate his emotions,” according to the records.
The affidavit claims that in March, Eddings-Dion texted the family member to inform her that she had ordered a 30-day supply of 24-hour release nicotine patches, saying that the 30-day period should be sufficient to “see if the treatment is working.” In response, the family member stated that they did not wish to give the youngster nicotine patches.
The family member called Eddings-Dion after the boy was admitted to the hospital and videotaped the exchange, yelling at her and accusing her of causing the boy’s illness and endangering him. According to reports, Eddings-Dion was heard on the recording expressing her sincere regret and vowing that she would never have harmed the youngster. Eddings-Dion said, “It was not intentional,” when the family member reaffirmed that Eddings-Dion had really harmed the child.
A forensic nurse at Memorial Hospital Central who had evaluated the youngster upon his admission on April 3 was interviewed by a deputy from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO). According to the nurse’s testimony, a kid exposed to nicotine would exhibit symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and extreme agitation. If medical assistance had not been provided, the infant may have experienced electrolyte imbalance and dehydration, which might have resulted in serious physical harm.
The youngster was awake and lucid when he left her home, according to Eddings-Dion, who was interviewed by the EPSO deputy. Eddings-Dion acknowledged purchasing the nicotine patches because she believed they would benefit the youngster with his behavioral problems based on her own study. Eddings-Dion informed the deputy that the patches would have been out of the boy’s reach, but she said that she had never opened them and had forgotten where she had placed them in the house.
Eddings-Dion hinted that the boy had played with “Band-Aids” while under her supervision that day.
Eddings-Dion was arrested on suspicion of child abuse and offenses against an at-risk juvenile, according to the affidavit. On April 28, she is scheduled to appear in court in El Paso County.