Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Some stories, there just isn't much you can say about them.

There are times when something so tragic and stupid happens that it takes my breath away. I would like to find some big political story that goes with this but there really isn't one. Just a really sad story that leaves me shaking my head.

A couple in Miami tried to get their baby daughter to sleep by giving her massive doses of vodka. Her father called 911 after she was unresponsive, but she was prononced dead at the scene.

I can't imagine giving alcohol to a three month old.

Small quantities of alcohol have historically been used to quiet crying babies, but authorities said the amount fed to Makeisha was extreme.

The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office determined that the infant had a blood alcohol level of 0.47 percent. The legal limit for drivers in Florida is 0.08 percent.

Former Medical Examiner Dr. Ronald Wright said that for a baby to ingest that much alcohol would be the equivalent of a 160-pound adult drinking 18 beers.


Now I understand that parenting is a learned, not a born skill, and that some people have never learned how to be parents. It took me quite a few years, and there are some days I still question whether I'm any good at it. But common sense would dictate that this would be at best very risky. Even if the baby survived, it's hard to imagine what kind of effects this would cause on her still developing body.

In fact, the autopsy pinpoints the cause of death:

According to a police report, the final autopsy showed that the child had been fed fatal doses of alcohol shortly before her death and her liver indicated severe buildup of excess fat due to alcohol consumption.

I'd like to be angry at the parents, but this story just drained me to the point that I am just shaking my head, at a loss for words.

1 comment:

Barbi said...

Also cited in the article:

According to a police report, the parents told officers that for about a month they had fed their daughter a bottle filled with a mixture of water, sugar and vodka to help her sleep.

What the hell is wrong with some people? *shaking my head - tears in my eyes*