This Story Could’ve Ended Worse
My parents are both absolutely evil and I’m ripping myself apart for not cutting off every single connection with them when my body, mind, and soul were screaming at me to do so. If it hurt, it probably happened to me under age six.
I was homeschooled as an only child in the middle of nowhere under what I can only call, straight-up brainwashing tactics. I am still reeling from the fact that not only have I failed to escape from their stuff, but I’ve also allowed my child to be possibly severely harmed by them as well.
I’m a single mom who works two jobs and I, unfortunately, live in the same area as my family in question.
After severe emotional mistreatment from both of them throughout my pregnancy after I left my son’s father (which was mixed with favors and things I desperately needed at the time), I felt obligated to let my mother watch him at three months and beyond because I couldn’t afford childcare anymore.
I’m a nurse and a waitress, working minimum wage. Plus, my mother was showing symptoms of being depressed, and my son really seemed to cheer her up. They both acted out loving him very much. I soon learned how horribly wrong I was.
Two months ago, I was put on sick leave; my son had caught Fifths disease and I had ended up catching it from him. We were both still sick, but I had to go back to work. So back to the parents’ he went. My mother is a registered nurse.
Unbeknownst to me, she mail-ordered Ivermectin—an antiparasitic for animals—from Canada. She wanted to “fix” his symptoms. She was giving me her usual nutty spiel about another miracle medicine when I dropped him off.
I thought she was trying to suggest I ask his pediatrician about it. I tuned her out because I’d heard enough and much more insane things come out of their mouths every day. Besides, I was going to be late. I kissed my baby’s forehead and left.
A severe snowstorm came in that night so I had to leave him overnight with them. When I got there the next morning he seemed very tired, but I figured it was time for his mid-morning nap since it was 10 or 11. That’s normal for him. But as soon as I got home, I knew immediately something was wrong.
He’s normally a sweet, calm happy baby who takes a while to get upset about something. Now he was screaming at the top of his lungs, was pouring sweat, and, after barely an hour, a rash started forming all over his body.
I immediately rushed him to the ER. They initially assumed sepsis but thank God they drew blood. They kept asking me if he took any medications, and I kept telling them no. He’s healthy. Always has been. They kept asking me. Are you sure?
I called mom to ask if she’d possibly fed him anything new…That’s when she owned up and told me what they’d done to “help” him. When she kept going, my heart stopped.
Since they had little to no dosage information and it had no approval for use on babies, they administered a near-fatal amount IN HIS BOTTLE. If I hadn’t brought him in as quickly as I did, the hospitalist informed me he would’ve gone into total organ failure and passed within hours.
He was flown from the regional hospital to the biggest medical center downstate and spent three weeks hundreds of miles from my place. His dad came through and supported us, and is consulting a lawyer, which I have zero problems with.
My baby has recovered unbelievably well, from the Ivermectin and the Fifths disease as well thanks to the excellent care he got. But this story could have ended horribly. And I don’t doubt it’s ended differently before.