TAMARAC, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida woman is furious and demanding answers from a day care in Tamarac after, she said, her 4-year-old granddaughter came home from the facility missing several teeth.
Eassie Crawford said her granddaughter Alanna has to be watched at all times because of a serious medical condition.
“Alanna has been on life support two times, twice, and she went from having seizures every day to now they got it controlled, so she has them maybe twice a month,” she said.
The child’s condition is so severe that she has to go to Spark Pediatrics, a special daycare along West McNab Road where nurses and staff are on hand to watch her around the clock.
On Wednesday, Crawford said, she received a disturbing phone call from the facility.
“I got a phone call at 2:58 saying that they wanted me not to be shocked when Alanna arrived home,” she said. “They said three teeth were missing from her mouth.”
Crawford asked her granddaughter on camera who knocked her teeth out.
The girl replied, “But my teeth.”
According to Alanna’s grandparents, Spark Pediatrics told them she was playing with teenagers when she fell.
“She had no business being with those teenage girls,” said Crawford.
The child’s grandfather, Roger Becklum, said the daycare’s missing teeth count was off by one.
“She had a bruise on her chin. Three of her teeth at the top are out, and one at the bottom,” he said. “Where did [she] fall from?”
The family immediately called 911 and took her to Broward Health Medical Center.
“They told me that her gums are bruised. When her next set of teeth come in, she may need surgery,” said Crawford.
According to the facility, they had sufficient nurses on staff at the time, and they assessed the situation.
“They were unable to take care of them, and we trusted them, and they breached that trust,” said Becklum.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office and the the Florida Department of Children and Families are investigating.
Spark Pediatrics CEO Donna Lodato said this was an accident. She released a statement that reads in part, “Our full staff, including two nurses and two certified nursing assistants were on hand at the time when the child lost her footing, tripped and fell, hitting her face. The two teenagers she was playing with are close family friends of the child, and due to that connection, she plays with them regularly … The safety of the patients in our care is our top priority, and we do our absolute best to prevent accidents like this from happening.”
But Alanna’s grandparents said they have yet to receive an incident report from the facility, and they want answers.
“See who’s responsible, get to the bottom of what happened to my granddaughter,” said Crawford.
Officials with the daycare said they are cooperating with authorities.
As for Crawford and Becklum, they said their granddaughter will not be returning to the facility. They said they want the incident fully investigated, and they want someone charged.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.