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Kelowna  

Boy poked by drug needle

Emily Krebs prays every day that her 17-month-old son Xavier will be OK, after a horrifying incident took place in the side yard of their apartment building.

Last Thursday, the mother of two was outside digging in the dirt with her toddler in an area next to their Pandosy Street apartment, when she says she turned away for just a moment and her son found an intravenous drug needle.

Xavier poked the needle both in his ear and his mouth in a matter of seconds.

Emily immediately rushed her child to the emergency room, where she says she was told there wasn’t much that could be done for her son except watch for a fever or infection and then bring him back in six months to be tested for HIV and hepatitis.

“The next night, I heard Xavier screaming so I ran to his room and he was convulsing in his bed, throwing up everywhere, his fever was so high that to touch his skin was so hot, so we had to call an ambulance,” she explains. “The needle that he had put in his mouth, it gave him a viral infection because of the dirtiness of it, so he’s been sick. Today is the first day he has eaten in four days.”

While the young boy is slowing getting back to his cheerful self, Emily is left angry and confused.

“I’ve never seen a needle in my life. I thought this area was a nice place to play – there are rose bushes, the ducks come down this way and we feed them.”

However, after asking neighbours and inquiring with her building manager, it appears the area is well known to contain drug needles and many have been seen in the vicinity.

“They say it’s a huge problem here, and nobody told me. I wouldn't bring my child outside to a dangerous zone, I would never do that. If someone would have told us, it would have been a lot easier – it never would have happened.”

Emily contacted a lawyer following the incident, who told her it up to the owner or manager of the building to keep the area clean and notify residents of an immediate danger.

“They would see me playing outside. I just wish they would have put a note up or knocked on our door to tell us.”

The manager of the apartment put a gate up at the building as a preventative measure, but for Emily it is too late, her family is moving. She doesn't feel safe.

Jason Sawcett of the Kelson Group is in charge of the apartment and says often needles are found in the parking lot, but he had never heard of one being found in the grass area.

"Right now, we are trying to monitor the property and make sure there are no more needles in the area. We are just trying to now make tenants aware that this is a potential issue. We have seen needles in the past, but it hasn't been as prominent in the last week."

Sawcett says they will help Emily with her move and are anxious to hear of her son's health in the future.

"They were the only tenants in the building who had children, and because we never found any issues in the grass, we didn't think it was required to do a notice about this particular issue, but we will be reviewing that for the future."

At the time, Emily didn’t know what to do with the needle and brought it with her to the hospital.

Interior Health suggests if you find a needle to do the following:

  • Pick it up with protective gloves and using a pair of tongs, pliers or tweezers while pointing the needle tip down and away from you
  • Place the needle in a sturdy, puncture proof container, with a lid that is tightly closed
  • Wash your hands with soap and water.
  • Put the sealed container into the regular garbage or contact your local pharmacy

If you are in the downtown core, Ron Beahun with the Downtown Kelowna Association suggests you don’t touch the needle and instead contact their on-call number (250-470-9058) or the fire department.

“Or tell a business, they will get in touch with us and we will properly pick it up and properly dispose of it,” he says of his staff, who are trained to deal with this matter.

If you are pricked by a needle:

  • Wash the area with soap and warm water right away
  • Seek medical attention immediately. Preventative treatment can be provided to prevent infection or illness from developing

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