What the hell is wrong with people? I don't understand how some people think, or maybe it's because they don't think. You don't have to live in Texas to know how hot it gets here in the summertime. It usually gets near or at 100 degrees in June and doesn't let up until sometime in October. So how is it that people will still leave babies or young children locked in their automobile, while they go shopping in a nice air-conditioned store. It makes me wonder if they care at all for those little kids. You don't have to be a rocket-scientist to know the "greenhouse effect" causes the temperature to quickly rise to very dangerous levels in an automobile sitting in the Texas sun.
But it has happened again. About 5:15 pm last Tuesday, a passerby noticed a baby locked in a car in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The temperature at the time was about 98 degrees. The good samaritan broke the car window, got the baby out and called 9-1-1. That was exactly the right thing to do. You can never know how long the child has been in that dangerous heat, or how much longer they have before succumbing to it.
The baby was taken to the hospital, where it was determined that it was OK. Meanwhile, the mother (pictured above) was arrested as she returned to her car. She said she thought her mother had taken the baby, and anyway, she was only in the store for about 10 minutes.
Those are some pitiful excuses! Didn't you go into the store with your mother? Couldn't you see she wasn't carrying a baby? Don't you know that even 10 or 15 minutes can be deadly to a baby in that kind of heat? We can only hope that the courts will get this young woman's attention.
Sadly, that won't be the last time this happens this summer. I imagine at least three or four (or even more) instances of this will happen this summer here in Texas. It always does. Just what the hell is wrong with these people?
As with every story, there are 3 sides; their side, your side and the truth. This story has many holes and missing information...though I'm not sure explaining them would do any good. In fact, any explanation given would likely be chalked up to more "pitiful excuses". What would be a good excuse? Post-partum depression, fleeing a very dangerous and abusive spouse, poor judgement in a knee jerk reaction to a threat on her life..?
ReplyDeleteThats exactly what happened. The mother was fleeing her very dangerous and abusive husband. Between the abuse, the stress and anxiety of leaving, and her body still recovering from childbirth, she was diagnosed with postpartum depression and severe anxiety. Her physician placed her medication to help with her symptoms. She hadn't been on the new medication long, nor was her body responding well to it. It left her often feeling very cloudy, and 'spaced out'.
On that tragic evening, the mother had gone to the store with her own mom and infant. Feeling as she did, she opted to stay in the car and wait. While waiting in the car, she received a threaten call from her estranged and abusive husband. He told her he had followed her and was watching her as the spoke. Claiming he would kill her before her mother returned.(This type of behavior was not uncommon, and not to be taken lightly.) In a panic, she rushed into the store to find her own mother so that they could leave. She frantically searched, and come to find her mother leaving the check out line. It was at that point she realized her mother had not brought her infant in, and they both rushed back out to find the good Samaritan and police in the parking lot.
In the years since, this mother has carried out her sentencing set by the courts and has full custody of her children. She is actually a wonderful mom. She cares deeply for her children and lives with the "what ifs" and "how could I's" guilt everyday.
I find it disheartening to see people so quickly and harshly judge people and situations they know so little about.
Thank you for filling in the blanks in this story. I hope she also got away from the abusive husband. But while the story is understandable, it is NEVER OK to leave a child in a car in a Texas summer. I am glad that lesson was learned in this case and the child was all right, and I don't doubt she's a loving mother.
Delete