Mum accused of 'injecting faeces' into cancer-stricken son's IV
A mother accused of injecting faeces into her teenage son’s intravenous drip while he was battling leukaemia in hospital is facing trial in the US.
Tiffany Alberts, 41, of Wolcott, Indiana, faces seven felony charges over the allegations, CBS News reports, along with charges of neglect resulting in serious bodily harm.
Doctors now fear the delays from treating his subsequent infections may have hurt his chances of winning his battle with cancer.
Hospital staff became concerned about Alberts' 15-year-old’s son health while he was undergoing his cancer treatment after he began developing unexplained infections.
Struggling to understand the root of the infections, staff installed surveillance cameras in his room and soon discovered his mother had been tampering with his drip.
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Court documents say the video showed Alberts injecting unknown substances into his IV line several times.
WFLI reports the young man developed serious blood infections as a result, which delayed his treatment and threatened his life while baffling doctors who could not understand how organisms found in faeces made their way in to his bloodstream.
The station reports the mother first told investigators she had injected hot water into the system to flush the IV lines.
Alberts allegedly confessed later, saying she had only injected the substance in an attempt to have the boy moved to better medical facilities.
However, the plan may have had tragic consequences.
While Alberts’ son is still alive, he has been subjected to months in hospital and multiple surgeries, leading doctors to worry they may have missed their best chance to successfully treat his cancer.