4-year-old UK girl accidentally hangs herself in tree
A 4-year-old UK girl hanged herself in a tree accidentally just days after becoming a sister to twins – and her mom has now spoken about her “hellstorm of grief” following the tragedy.
Freya Thorpe was wearing a bicycle helmet when she climbed a tree near her home in Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, in September 2019, South West News Service reported.
She slipped and fell but her helmet strap caught on the tree and she died despite efforts by emergency responders.
“I am a broken individual, caught in a hellstorm of grief,” Freya’s mom Elise said, The Sun reported.
“We live every day and night in hell, torture, sheer shock and grief that can’t be comprehended,” she said.
The devastated mother told SWNS that she and her husband “were on cloud nine after the long-awaited arrival and difficult pregnancy” of twins Kiera and Zack — and added that she would have taken her own life had she not given birth 10 days earlier.
“A brother and sister that Freya had awaited so patiently for nine long and difficult months to become a big sister,” she told the outlet.
“In the early afternoon daddy had to go off to collect the special milk from Boots Pharmacy in Cowley for the twins as they were allergic to cows’ milk,” Elise recounted.
Freya had been invited to a play date at a house a “10-second” walk away on a cul-de-sac where parents “‘confidently let their children out to play,” the mother said.
But on the fateful day, Freya ventured outside without her mother knowing.
“I had a gut feeling I wanted her home. Shortly after, I saw an ambulance at the end of the road – I panicked, at the time not knowing why I was panicking,” Elise told SWNS.
“I called my husband to say I was going to get her back from the house behind. He said, ‘No, I’m five minutes away, stay with the babies,’” she said.
“I saw his car go past and not return from the little cul-de-sac. I knew something was wrong,” she added.
When she saw her husband with a firefighter, she grabbed the twins and rushed to a cordoned area where she saw first responders working desperately on Freya.
After waiting at John Radcliffe Hospital for two days, she and her husband were told their daughter could not be saved.
“I never stepped foot inside my home again. This is something I also lost and miss to this day — my home,” Elise said.
“Had I not given birth only 10 days before we would have taken our lives in the hospital that night, without a shadow of a doubt,” she said.
“We have had so much support over the last 18 months and we can’t tell you all how much that’s helped us through and for that I can never thank everyone enough for the support, kind words and donations – even from those we’ve never met,” the mother continued.
“But we’ve also experienced scrutiny and abuse from people who’ve asked, ‘Where were the parents? How could they let her out alone?’” she added.
“It has caused family rifts from relatives and judgment all because people didn’t know Freya wasn’t in our care when this happened.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/4-year-old-uk-girl-accidentally-hangs-herself-in-tree/
Photo Credit: Elise Thorpe/SWNS
Louisiana cop accused of holding arm around 13-year-old’s neck during arrest
A Louisiana police officer restrained a 13-year-old boy by putting his arm around the back of the child’s neck while pinning him to the ground, video shows.
The chaotic clip, posted Sunday on Twitter shows a Baton Rouge police corporal atop the juvenile as witnesses surrounding the pair plead with the officer to stop, saying to get off the “little boy.”
“He wasn’t doing nothing!” one man yelled at the corporal and another cop at the scene. Seconds later, the corporal who had been restraining the youngster released his grip and then put the boy into handcuffs, video shows.
Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome told reporters she and the city’s police chief viewed the footage Monday and have launched a review into the incident.
“What has raised ire of the public was a portion of the video involving a 13-year-old juvenile and what appears to be the arm of a Baton Rouge police officer around his neck,” Broome said.
No decision was made regarding the officer’s actions as of Tuesday, but Broome said the city and its police department filed a petition in court Monday to allow the full body-camera video to be made public since it involves a minor.
“I understand the significance of this moment, given our history and events that have taken place in our country,” Broome said. “I will make sure that this is thoroughly investigated.”
The footage was released to the boy’s family Monday, Broome said.
Police Chief Murphy Paul said cops responded to two disturbance calls involving several kids who were allegedly harassing other people. Officers got to the scene and de-escalated the situation without issuing citations or arresting anyone, Paul said.
Officers then returned to the location about an hour later and took two juveniles into custody – one for battery of a police officer and another for resisting arrest, Broome said.
An attorney for the boy seen in the clip told The Advocate he was charged with battery of a police officer before being released from a juvenile detention center later Sunday.
“I appreciate the swift response from Mayor Broome and the promises made by Chief Paul,” attorney Ron Haley said in a statement. “However, too many times in our community we see obvious police misconduct go unchecked and unpunished.”
Haley urged police officials to immediately release bodycam footage of the entire incident.
“No unarmed child should be choked and manhandled by a police officer,” Haley’s statement continued.
The officer in question – a 12-year department vet — remained on active-duty Tuesday, a Baton Rouge police spokesman told The Post.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/cop-allegedly-held-arm-around-13-year-olds-neck-during-arrest/
Photo Credit: businessinsider
Merelize Van Der Merwe faces backlash for posing with heart of giraffe she killed
A trophy hunter is facing furious backlash for posing with the heart of a giraffe she had just shot – describing the bloody organ as her “perfect” Valentine’s Day present.
Merelize Van Der Merwe, 32, infuriated Facebook users when she shared the gruesome image after her “wonderful” husband spent more than $2,000 to make her dream come true at a South African game park, the Mirror reported.
“Ever wondered how big a giraffe’s heart is? I’m absolutely over the moon with my BIG valentine’s present,” Van Der Merwe, who plans to use the beast’s skin as a rug, wrote on Facebook.
The avid hunter, who incurred the wrath of animal rights activists, brushed off their complaints by insisting that killing the 17-year-old bull actually helps save threatened species, a claim refuted by conservationists.
She also insisted that such slayings contributes to tourism.
Van Der Merwe — who has killed as many as 500 animals including lions, leopards and elephants — said she posted the sickening photo to taunt the animal rights lobby.
“I have no respect for them – I call them the mafia,” she told the Mirror as she recounted the couple’s dream trip to the resort of Sun City.
A friend call to alert her that her dream kill was spotted at the game park.
“I’d waited years for my own perfect bull – the older a bull gets the darker he gets,” she told the outlet. “I love the skin and the fact it’s such an iconic animal for Africa.
“Our plans changed quickly. My wonderful husband Gerhardt knew this was my dream. I was like a child for two weeks, counting the days. Afterwards I was flooded with emotions,” she gushed.
The woman, who runs a citrus farm in Limpopo province, claimed her kill “created work for 11 people that day” and “a lot of meat for the locals,” adding that the old giraffe’s death would mean “a new bull can take over and provide new, strong genetics for the herd.”
Van Der Merwe claimed: “If hunting is banned, animals will become worthless and will disappear. Hunting has helped bring back a lot of species from the brink of extinction. The only people protecting these animals are trophy hunters.”
But Mark Jones of the Born Free Foundation told the Mirror that “trophy hunters’ claims they are concerned about wildlife conservation are highly misleading.”
“Trophy hunting is not a conservation tool, nor does it contribute significant funds to local communities,” Jones said.
A member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said: “Someone who kills another sentient being, cuts out their heart, and boasts about it fits the definition of a sociopath.
“One day, trophy hunting will be listed as a sign of a psychiatric disorder, as it should be today. It is grandiosity, serial killing, and bloodlust paired with a burning desire to show off,” Elisa Allen told the outlet.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/woman-kills-giraffe-cuts-out-its-heart-for-valentines-day/
Photo Credit: facebook.com
This device is crucial in the fight against Covid. It may not work on dark skin
(CNN)In the fight against Covid-19, the pulse oximeter has been an essential tool for doctors and other medical professionals. But thesmall device that monitors oxygen levels may not work well for people with dark skin, according to multiple studies and government health agencies.
Pulse oximeters, which have increased in use during the pandemic, may yield inaccurate results, the US Food and Drug Administration warned Friday.
Earlier in week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also updated its coronavirus clinical guidance to warn doctors and nurses that data from several studies suggest skin pigmentation can affect the accuracy of the devices.”While pulse oximeters may be useful for estimating blood oxygen levels, these devices have limitations that can result in inaccurate readings,” Dr. William Maisel, director of the Office of Product Evaluation and Quality in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.
Pulse oximeters are small clamp-like devices that attach painlessly to a patient’s finger and constantly monitor the amount of oxygen in their blood. Covid-19 is a respiratory illness, meaning it attacks the lungs first, so low oxygen levels are a sign a patient may be getting worse. CDC data shows Black, Latino and Native Americans are four times more likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19 than others.
The recent warnings come after a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in December. Dr. Michael Sjoding and several colleagues from the University of Michigan analyzed data from over 10,000 patients. For each patient, they compared the oxygen levels recorded by a pulse oximeter to those measured by arterial blood gas — a much more accurate, but painful and invasive, procedure.
The researchers wanted to know how often the pulse oximeter was showing a relatively normal oxygen level when it should have been registering something more concerning.In White patients, the pulse oximeter gave a misleading number 3.6% of the time. In Black patients, it was 11.7% of the time.
The takeaway, Dr. Sjoding says, is that pulse oximeters were three times as likely to miss significantly low oxygen levels — or hypoxemia — in Black patients. The study suggests one in every 10 Black patients may be getting deceptive results.
Why the readings aren’t precise
There’s a relatively simple explanation for why. Pulse oximeters work by sending two types of red light through your finger. A sensor on the other side of the device picks up this light and uses it to detect the color of your blood; bright red blood is highly oxygenated, while blue or purplish blood is less. If the device isn’t calibrated for darker skin, the pigmentation could affect how the light is absorbed. Dark nail polish can cause a similar effect.
Experienced physicians don’t rely on the pulse oximeter alone to make a diagnosis or decide a patient’s treatment, says Dr. Michelle Ng Gong, chief of Critical Care Medicine and the chief of Pulmonary Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
“They would never tell a patient that I don’t care how badly you feel, as long as that number is OK, don’t worry about it,” says Dr. Gong. “It is a tool. And as a tool, we need to be able to use it properly in the context of other information.”But, Dr. Gong says, during the pandemic, when hospitals are overwhelmed, and doctors who may not normally be in the emergency room are being brought in to see and triage patients, numbers from a pulse oximeter may hold more weight. An inaccurate reading could be particularly problematic if the patient’s oxygen level is borderline.
Doctors also need to be aware of their own unconscious bias, Dr. Gong says. Studies show, for example, when African Americans complain of pain, they are less likely to be given as much (or any) pain medication as Whites. If a patient says they are having trouble breathing, physicians shouldn’t dismiss them just because a pulse oximeter reading is normal.”The only way health disparities can be reduced,” Dr. Gong says, “is if we attack it from multiple ends, from both the larger contributions as well as our personal interactions.”
Doctors are also not the only ones using pulse oximeters. As hospitals reached capacity during the pandemic, some Covid-19 patients with less severe symptoms were sent home to monitor their progress. According to market research, sales of at-home pulse oximeters have increased 500% since the novel coronavirus arrived in the US.Amy Moran-Thomas, a professor of anthropology at MIT, started researching pulse oximeters last year when her husband was sent home with one.
The findings aren’t new
Moran-Thomas uncovered studies going back to the 1990s that suggested there was a problem with pulse oximeters in darker-skinned patients.In 2005, a study done at the University of California, San Francisco’s Hypoxia Lab, found that three different models of pulse oximeters overestimated oxygen levels in dark-skinned patients. They did a follow-up study in 2007 with similar results.
“A reading of 77 like my husband’s could hide a true saturation as low as 69 — even greater immediate danger. But EMTs or intake nurses might not be able to detect those discrepancies. The number appears objective and race-neutral,” Moran-Thomas wrote in Boston Review.
Moran-Thomas wondered why the problem, identified decades ago, hadn’t already been fixed.”I am a pulmonary and critical care physician,” says Dr. Sjoding, who began his study after reading Moran-Thomas’ article. “
One of our coauthors is a prominent Black physician from the University of Michigan. None of us knew this. None of us knew about these studies from the mid 2000s. It was not a part of our training.”
Public attention seems to be picking up. On January 25, several US senators sent the FDAa letter urging them to look into the issue. The FDA is responsible for approving any medical pulse oximeters before they go to market. The agency currently requires pulse oximeters to be tested on a variety of skin tones, meaning “at least 2 darkly pigmented (test subjects) or 15 % of the subject pool, whichever is larger.”
The FDA says it is carefully reviewing the available data to determine whether additional guidance or studies from the agency are needed. It recently approved a smartphone pulse oximeter that claims to work on all skin tones, using a 10-20 second automatic calibration period to accurately measure how light is moving through the user’s skin.”
These devices are not intended to be the sole or primary use of information to make a clinical diagnosis or treatment decision,” Dr. Maisel told CNN in an interview Wednesday. “
Someone shouldn’t overly rely on a pulse oximeter reading, even if it’s the most accurate product.”
“Just make sure you’re aware of that when you’re making decisions,” says Dr. Sjoding. “The pulse oximeter reading could be a couple of points off. And if that is the case, would you care for this patient in a different way?”
via: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/20/health/pulse-oximeters-dark-skin-covid/index.html
Photo Credit: cnn.com
Scottish woman bit off man’s tongue in street brawl — then seagull ate it
A Scottish woman bit off part of a man’s tongue in a wild street brawl — and a seagull promptly swooped down and gobbled it up, authorities said in a report.
Bethaney Ryan, 27, clashed with the stranger, James McKenzie, sparking an argument in Edinburgh on Aug. 1, 2019, according to a prosecutor cited by the Edinburgh Evening News.
After McKenzie walked towards Ryan with “a clenched fist,” she inexplicably kissed him — then chomped off a 3-by-2-centimeter piece of his tongue, prosecutor Susan Dickson said in Edinburgh Sheriff Court Thursday.
“She kissed him on the lips and during the course of that she bit through his tongue which caused a piece of his tongue to be removed,” Dickson told the court.
After he spat out a bloody chunk of the organ, a bird plucked it off the ground and ate it — making reattachment surgery impossible, she said.
“Mr McKenzie walked off and spat a part of his tongue out at which point the piece of muscle was picked up by a large seagull that made off with the piece of tongue,” Dickson said.
McKenzie was treated for “the laceration to his tongue” after it began “oozing blood,” the prosecutor said.
“He did not require surgery given the piece of tongue was no longer available and could not be reattached,” the prosecutor said.
Ryan, who was arrested, pleaded guilty to the assault on Thursday, according to the outlet. It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the argument between her and McKenzie.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/21/scottish-woman-bit-off-mans-tongue-in-brawl-then-seagull-ate-it/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Over $150,000 raised for Ohio mom who left kids alone so she could work
An Ohio mom was arrested for leaving her two children home alone in order to go to work — and now more than $150,000 has been raised to help support her.
Shaina Bell, 24, was accused of leaving behind her daughters, ages 10 and 3, in Motel 6 hotel room where they live in Liberty Township so she could go to work at Little Caesars, news station WKBN reported.
“I had to go to work … My daughter told me that this is where she wants to be, and I felt that she was old enough to be able to stay here with her sister for a few hours because my job is right down the street,” Bell told the news station.
She claimed that she had someone check on her children while she was gone every hour during her shift at the pizza joint on Feb. 11, Fox4 reported.
But while she was at her job, she was arrested on charges of child endangerment.
“I never set blame on anybody for anything because at the end of the day, nobody left my kids in the hotel but me,” Bell told the news station.
“I’ve cried a couple of times since this situation started. I’m just trying to keep a level head and trying to stay strong because that’s all I can do.”
Her own mother, Danielle Hosey, started a GoFundMe page to help Bell and her children find permanent housing.
“She works hard and she loves her family very much,” Hosey wrote on the page.
As of Monday morning, the page has raised more than $165,000 for the family.
“A lot of people are saying hurtful things, but a lot of people are also being there for me and showing great support,” Bell told WKBN.
“I have over $100,000 in a GoFundMe account right now. I didn’t ask for that, but people gave it to me, and I’m just over appreciative to what’s going on.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/22/over-150k-raised-for-shaina-bell-mom-who-left-kids-to-work/
Photo Credit: Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office
Arizona man reportedly faked own kidnapping to get out of work
An Arizona man was so desperate to get out of work that he staged his own kidnapping, authorities said.
Brandon Soules, 19, was found with his hands tied up behind his back with a belt and a banana in his mouth near a water tower earlier this month in Coolidge, the Casa Grande Dispatch reported.
He told authorities that two masked men had kidnapped him, hit his head and knocked him unconscious, the outlet reported.
The men then drove him around before dumping him where he was found, Soules said.
But after conducting an investigation, detectives found no evidence the kidnapping occurred, the outlet reported.
Soules then confessed to authorities that he made up the story in order to get out of work, the outlet reported.
He was arrested on Feb. 17 on suspicion of false reporting to police.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/22/arizona-man-faked-own-kidnapping-to-get-out-of-work-report/
Photo Credit: Coolidge Police
New York dad-to-be killed by exploding gender reveal device
A dad-to-be in upstate New York was killed when a device he was building for a gender reveal party exploded, state police said Monday.
Christopher Pekny, 28, was working on the device for his child’s gender reveal party in the Catskills town of Liberty when it blew up just before noon on Sunday, cops said.
The blast killed Pekny and injured his brother, 27-year-old Michael Pekny, who was treated for his injuries at the Garnet Medical Center in Middletown, according to police.
The Robin Hood diner in Livingston Manor, which has been owned and operated by the Pekny family since the 1980s, mourned the loss of Christopher in a statement.
“We are deeply saddened and must inform you all of the loss of our dear and beloved Christopher,” the family wrote on Facebook.
“We appreciate the overwhelming display of love and support that you all have shown.”
Police said the incident remains under investigation.
It’s just the latest in a string of tragedies caused by faulty gender reveal devices in recent years.
Earlier this month, a 26-year-old Michigan man died after he was struck by shrapnel from a malfunctioning cannon being used at a baby shower.
Another gender reveal pyrotechnic device sparked a massive wildfire in Southern California in September 2020, burning thousands of acres.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/22/catskills-dad-to-be-killed-by-exploding-gender-reveal-device/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Two Florida women dressed up as ‘grannies’ to get COVID vaccine
Two Florida women dressed up as “grannies” in an attempt to get vaccinated against COVID-19, health officials said Thursday.
Their wacky getup included “the bonnets, the gloves, the glasses — the whole thing,” said Dr. Raul Pino, the director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County.
Workers at the Orange County Convention Center vaccine site noticed the women “looked funny,” and stopped them before they could get their shots, Pino said, according to WKMG-TV.
There had also been an issue with the IDs and driver’s licenses they provided, Pino noted.
The duo was coming for their second dose of the vaccine.
Pino said he didn’t know how they were able to get their first shot, and it’s unclear if they used the same ruse.
“I don’t know how they escaped for the first time,” he said.
The incident was turned over to local authorities, who issued trespassing warnings to the women.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said one of the women was 44 years old and the other was 34 years old, local outlet WWL-TV reported.
In Florida, only adults ages 65 and up, health care workers and assisted living residents and staff are eligible for the vaccine.
Pino said the number of people trying to to falsify their identities to get the shot is probably “higher than we expect.”
Security has been ramped up at the vaccination site as a result, he said.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/18/florida-women-dressed-up-as-grannies-to-get-covid-vaccine/
Photo Credit: REUTERS/Octavio Jones