Aston mum faces anxious wait after son picks up syringe in playground

Mar 16 2009 by Rebekah Oruye, Birmingham Mail

A WORRIED mum faces an anxious two-week wait to find out whether her young son has contracted a deadly disease, after he picked up a discarded syringe at a Birmingham primary school.

Mum-of-two Sharon McDonald is fearful her nine-year-old son Ramone could be infected after the incident at the Sacred Heart School in Birchfield.

She said she was furious her son had been placed in detention over the incident.

Ramone was playing football in the school’s playground with two other children, when one of the boys spotted the discarded instrument dumped in a nature area.

Sharon, from Aston, said: “My biggest concern right now is for the health of my son. When I leave him at the school gates, I expect him to be safe and cared for and not exposed to things that could put his life at risk.”

The youngster has been given blood tests and injections but the results will not be known for another fortnight.

Sharon claimed she was not informed about the incident until the school’s headteacher, Mrs Lisa Fahy, spoke to her the following day. “I was too angry to stay and talk as I had to get Ramone to doctors straight away.

“He is only a child, he doesn’t know the dangers of playing with a syringe or understand the consequences of what has happened. It’s something parents don’t think about discussing with a nine-year-old.”