A Lethbridge mother is sounding the alarm after she claims her son was stuck but a discarded needle while he was playing at a public park earlier this week.
Janessa Fyfe says she was at Sequoia Park with her husband and kids when her six-year-old son Jarom was hurt by a needle left behind in the grass.
The boy was apparently crawling along the ground, following a spider when he went into the bushes and was pricked by a syringe.
"We took him to a doctor and, sure enough, a little mark was there," Fyfe says.
The doctor ordered a series of blood tests on the boy and has started off with some vaccine treatment to combat a possible Hepatitis C infection. But it will be some time before any results come back.
Fyfe says it's an awful feeling, seeing what her son is going through while being forced to sit and wait for results.
"You want your kids to be free and able to play at the park. You don't want to have to worry and you can't possibly look under every tree and under every rock to see if there's something there for your kid to get hurt on."
She has brought the situation to the attention of the City of Lethbridge and local police and hopes to see something done.
"I hope that changes are made and I hope that people who see this want to be part of the change and be able to voice their opinion on it."
Officials with the City of Lethbridge or Lethbridge Police Service could not be reached for any comment about the incident.
Last year, residents in Lethbridge handed over a petition to city officials because of the large quantity of needles that were found discarded near a local elementary school and in Kinsmen Park.
Anyone who finds discarded needles in Lethbridge is encouraged to call the AIDS Outreach Community Harm Reduction Education and Support Society (ARCHES) debris hotline at 403-332-0722.
(With files from CTV Lethbridge's Mason DePatie)
