I saw this over at Gizmodo this morning and had to pass it along. A toddler from Longmont, Colorado got a little too curious around the family laptop this week. She managed to get a hold of the business end of a USB cable that was still plugged into the computer and, as toddlers are prone to do, put the thing in her mouth.
Here’s the text from the original article:
Trinity remains at Children’s Hospital with third-degree burns on her tongue, palate and lips. She is on sedatives and paralyzing drugs to prevent her from moving and disturbing her breathing tube, Jeffrey Anderson said. She needs the tube because her tongue is so swollen it blocks her airway.
Anderson said he feels helpless as he watches his granddaughter in her hospital bed.
“I want to make it better, and there’s nothing I can do,” he said.
Anderson said doctors plan to allow Trinity to regain consciousness in the next day or two to assess how much neurological damage occurred. The little girl wasn’t breathing for several minutes, and her heart nearly stopped beating.
Anderson said doctors expect Trinity to recover from her burns, though she may have lasting cosmetic damage. Right now, the family’s main concern is that the happy, laughing little girl does not suffer serious brain damage, and they hope she is young enough that she can recover any lost capabilities.
That’s some serious damage from a cable that typically carries around 5 volts. So please, unplug cables you aren’t using and keep them away from your toddlers.
Source: Colorado Daily
