GUILTY NY - Garnett Spears, 5, dies of salt poisoning, Chestnut Ridge, 23 Jan 2014

[AmyPond]

I am new to this case. I would be surprised if her doctors didn't look into diabetes insipidus though.

 

[Lilibet]

I am new to this case. I would be surprised if her doctors didn't look into diabetes insipidus though.

Yes, you are right. He has been going to doctors since he was a baby and she has been lying about many things all his short life. To blame the doctors for missing a diagnosis based on watching the show and not following the story for several years is uninformed. She is not "the poor mother." She is someone who used her child for attention and when she was questioned, she moved.

ETA: She also lied before Garrett was born by claiming the child of a friend as her own on FB. She lied about Garrett's "dead" father...all to get attention and sympathy. No sympathy from me! She is right where she belongs. Now she needs to stop getting attention from the media.

 

[LaborDayRN]

I am new to this case. I would be surprised if her doctors didn't look into diabetes insipidus though.

I agree. With as many doctors and hospitals as this little angel was seen by, the myriad of surgeries and tests he was put through, I find it nearly impossible (IMO) that diabetes insipidus would not have been considered and ruled out.

 

[seattlechiquita]

ok kids, and be honest. Do I really want to watch the episode? Or is my liver safer without it?

 

[mrsobrien]

I am new to this case. I would be surprised if her doctors didn't look into diabetes insipidus though.

Do we know if they did or did not check for this specifically? I have not been able to keep up with all of the details here.

 

[joypath]

ok kids, and be honest. Do I really want to watch the episode? Or is my liver safer without it?

Watch it very carefully......and without items that can be projectiles anywhere near your reach!!!!!

Really: rather interesting that MBP is minimally addressed by many in the piece and you'll really enjoy (???) the inmate's revisionist view of history! :scared::gaah::scared:

 

[Lilibet]

Do we know if they did or did not check for this specifically? I have not been able to keep up with all of the details here.

I doubt WE know, but that doesn't mean they didn't. The fact that the possibility of diabetes wasn't raised in her defense indicates to me that it wasn't a viable possibility. An autopsy should show diabetes I expect. And I'm sure her attorney would have consulted medical experts. JMO

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

As I watched the episode I was taken aback by her snippy, berating attitude toward the interviewer. I kept thinking of what an incredible biatch on wheels she must have been to poor Garnet as he was suffering through so many horrible incidents....she certainly does not come off as the caring mommy type in the least. Horrible, mean woman.

 

[peedoffinny]

I was shocked at her attitude. I thought she would be more of ja and have a sickening, sweet, pollyanna type of voice. I'm glad she showed her true self, just in case some people had doubts about her guilt.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

I was shocked at her attitude. I thought she would be more of ja and have a sickening, sweet, pollyanna type of voice. I'm glad she showed her true self, just in case some people had doubts about her guilt.

That's what I expected! I haven't followed this case because it broke my heart just to read the headlines, so I figured she would attempt to come off as syrupy sweet but that was far from the case. Ya, she's right where she belongs. That poor kid. What a miserable short life.

 

[LaborDayRN]

As I watched the episode I was taken aback by her snippy, berating attitude toward the interviewer. I kept thinking of what an incredible biatch on wheels she must have been to poor Garnet as he was suffering through so many horrible incidents....she certainly does not come off as the caring mommy type in the least. Horrible, mean woman.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that way. All I had seen previously were still photo's of her with Garnett. She came across as kind of meek and gentle in the photo's. In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth!!! :notgood:

 

[LinasK]

I contacted her defense attorneys about diabetes insipidus. Diabetes insipidus has several causes. When I saw that show, it was so obvious that was the problem. Unfortunately, even when it is diagnosed, doctors, pediatricians, pediatric specialists miss it or don't believe it. They are still thrown off by the sodium levels and the sudden spikes.

The 17 trips to the bathroom was a major clue. Fevers are another clue.

The child could have been saved had he been diagnosed and treated properly.

This poor mother. How tragic.

Umm,hello? He was diagnosed and treated properly- for SALT poisoning by his mother. Unfortunately it was too late, the damage was already done. This was NOT diabetes. The major clue was when his sodium levels spiked immediately after she took him out of the restroom! She tried this at 10 weeks as well. The kid wasn't failing to thrive, he ate plenty by mouth. It was an instrument for her to insert the salt. And if he had GERD, the treatment is acid blockers, not a feeding tube!!! This poor kid for having her for a mother! I do agree his death was tragic and needless.

 

[LaborDayRN]

He was in and out of the hospital for the first nine weeks of his life and ... afterwards," she said.

"And what was he suffering from. What were his issues?" Roberts asked.

"Garnett had severe ear infections," Spears replied. "And the biggest problem we had was we couldn't get him to eat. ...and he would projectile vomit, so he was losing weight.

Doctors diagnosed Garnett with failure to thrive, but could not figure out why he couldn't hold food down. So, at 9 weeks old, he had stomach surgery to prevent him from throwing up.

"They sent him home and he didn't eat," Spears explained. "...he wouldn't take a bottle, nothing, and about a week later, he was admitted to the hospital for severe dehydration."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lacey-spears-a-mother-accused/

Her own description of his "issues" don't fit with D.I. One of the primary symptoms of diabetes insipidus is constant thirst:

Constant thirst

If you have diabetes insipidus, and you drink water all the time, you may find that you are still constantly thirsty. You may have a 'dry' feeling that is always present, no matter how much water you drink.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/diabetes-insipidus/1985285.fullarticle

I still believe D.I. would have been ruled out as a cause of Garnett's illness.

 

[LinasK]

He was in and out of the hospital for the first nine weeks of his life and ... afterwards," she said.

"And what was he suffering from. What were his issues?" Roberts asked.

"Garnett had severe ear infections," Spears replied. "And the biggest problem we had was we couldn't get him to eat. ...and he would projectile vomit, so he was losing weight.

Doctors diagnosed Garnett with failure to thrive, but could not figure out why he couldn't hold food down. So, at 9 weeks old, he had stomach surgery to prevent him from throwing up.

"They sent him home and he didn't eat," Spears explained. "...he wouldn't take a bottle, nothing, and about a week later, he was admitted to the hospital for severe dehydration."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lacey-spears-a-mother-accused/

Her own description of his "issues" don't fit with D.I. One of the primary symptoms of diabetes insipidus is constant thirst:

Constant thirst

If you have diabetes insipidus, and you drink water all the time, you may find that you are still constantly thirsty. You may have a 'dry' feeling that is always present, no matter how much water you drink.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/diabetes-insipidus/1985285.fullarticle

I still believe D.I. would have been ruled out as a cause of Garnett's illness.

And you don't treat vomiting and dehydration with feeding tubes either. You'd give Zofran to stop the vomiting, acid blockers for reflux, and an IV for hydration. There was never a need for a G-Tube!!!

 

[joypath]

Just a quick point: The instruments utilized to measure the serum or plasma Na levels are usually "panel" testing, automated "machines", meaning that other parameters (components) of the blood are also measured from one sample SO the other electrolyte levels within the blood would be available to the laboratory staff. The clinical laboratory scientists are NOT going to ignore abnormal levels, they ARE going to retest (rerun the sample) for verification, review the instrument's functioning by evaluating the quality control results & standards and follow laboratory protocol in regard to calling/reporting critical values to responsible healthcare providers.
On another point, many of the testing procedures are standard in evaluating patients who present with specific symptoms SO DI was one of the r/o working diagnosis, along with a few others! LaborDayRN hit the nail on the head, this child did NOT exhibit the excessive, demanding thirst nor did this child exhibit intellectual deficits.
Many other laboratory tests were performed to evaluate his renal & endocrine systems, again all standard, some simple and routine testing protocols to r/o disease states!

 

[seattlechiquita]

2:37 minutes in and I am already reaching for my Tums.

OMG she is claiming the hospital neglected her kid? Witch, you did not just say that!!!

 

[Madeleine74]

I watched this story as well last Friday. I tried to give the mother the benefit of the doubt, but in the end the science doesn't lie, people lie -- she's the one who introduced the salt into him. The big bottle of salt on their kitchen table was like a waving red flag. I'm glad they went back and collected the feeding bags. No way someone else put *salt* into those bags except for the mother. That was her thing, not someone else's. Poor little Garnett; he should have had a full life.

 

[seattlechiquita]

I doubt WE know, but that doesn't mean they didn't. The fact that the possibility of diabetes wasn't raised in her defense indicates to me that it wasn't a viable possibility. An autopsy should show diabetes I expect. And I'm sure her attorney would have consulted medical experts. JMO

BINGO. The hospital must have records of any and all tests and procedures performed on Garnett. If this was possible, any half-decent attorney would have made the mother of all stinks. They did not and that tells me volumes...

 

[coeurfragile]

The interview made my stomach turn. It's all "I, I, I, me, me, me." Ugh [emoji36]

 

[LinasK]

I watched this story as well last Friday. I tried to give the mother the benefit of the doubt, but in the end the science doesn't lie, people lie -- she's the one who introduced the salt into him. The big bottle of salt on their kitchen table was like a waving red flag. I'm glad they went back and collected the feeding bags. No way someone else put *salt* into those bags except for the mother. That was her thing, not someone else's. Poor little Garnett; he should have had a full life.

Yup! She's been quoted in the past as saying she gave him Himalayan salt so his food would taste better. (Only the best for his tube feedings!) Thank goodness the neighbor had a conscience and change of heart and told police about the feeding tube bags. Now Lacey is trying hard to throw her under the bus, like the neighbor would have any reason to poison him!!!