Sep 24, 2006 11:00 pm US/Central
Parents Blame Dentist Visit For 5-Year-Old's Coma
Diamond Brownridge Relies On Respirator To Breathe
by Mai Martinez
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
A 5-year-old Chicago girl is fighting for her life after a Saturday visit to the dentist. But exactly what is wrong remains a mystery.
As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, her parents believe a sedative may be to blame. Her mother says 5-year-old
Diamond Brownridge was given three sedatives at the dentist's office on Saturday, but hospital officials have not confirmed if that is what caused the little girl to stop breathing and put her in a coma.
Since Saturday afternoon, Diamond has been comatose at
Children's Memorial Hospital, relying on a respirator to breathe.
It's heartbreaking for her parents, who say the little girl is normally so cheerful and full of life.
"I cried and I just held her and kissed her and told her I need her home," said the girl's father, Paris Brownridge.
"She just looks miserable. She looks very, very unhappy, and they don't know if she's in pain or not," said Ommettress Travis, Diamond's mother.
Ommettress Travis still can not believe what has happened to her daughter. Travis believes a trip to a Southwest Side dental office is to blame.
Diamond was there Saturday morning to have two cavities filled and some caps put on her front teeth, according to her mother.
"They told me they would give her something to make her drowsy, and they would probably sedate her because of her age," Ommettress Travis said.
Travis said she thought nothing of it, and even left the exam room when asked to. But when she returned about a half hour later, she knew something was terribly wrong with her daughter.
"When I turned her over, her head just went back, and I saw her eyes were at the back of her head, and she was just immediately limp and I knew that, that was not just drowsiness. I know that she was not breathing," she said.
Travis says after making several attempts to wake Diamond, the dentist told his staff to call 911. They did and Diamond was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital, and then to Children's Memorial Hospital for further treatment.
Her mother has constantly been by her side. It's something she regrets not doing at the dentist's office.
"I know my daughter and I would've monitored her, and I would've knew when she wasn't breathing. I would've saw the signs," she said.
The dental office where Diamond was treated was open for business Sunday, but CBS 2's calls to the dentist who treated her were not returned.
We're not identifying him or the office because according to her parents, doctors have not officially determined what happened to Diamond.
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