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RUTLAND, Vt. (NEWS10) - More details are being released about the circumstances surrounding a six-month-old found unresponsive at her Vermont daycare.
Recently released toxicology results show that she had ingested high concentrations of diphenhydramine, which is the active, sedating ingredient in over-the-counter antihistamines, such as Benadryl.
Marissa Colburn and Blake Briar said their baby girl, Harper Rose Briar, was 100 percent healthy the morning of January 24th, 2018 when she was dropped off at the state-certified in-home daycare. They never told the daycare provider to give her any medication nor were they asked for permission, so it came as a shock when they learned the results of the autopsy and toxicology.
Harper Rose was known to her family as "Perfect Princess". The little peanut was born 6 pounds, 17 inches long on July 24, 2018 at 1:46 p.m. Colburn's mother picked out her name. "She was a very happy baby, always smiling, she was just perfect. That's just the best way to describe her, perfect," said Colburn. She had just started crawling, holding her bottle on her own and got her first tooth. Her favorite food -- green beans -- in baby food form of course.
Briar was working and Colburn decided to go back to school full time for Social Work at Castleton University. Colburn was never fond of the idea of daycare and being apart from her baby, but she spent three months vetting daycare providers to make sure she chose the right one.
On the third day of daycare, Colburn was just leaving school on her way to pick up Harper when she got the news; via text message, no less. "I actually got a text message, it wasn't a call. She said: 'Baby sick. Ambulance here. Go to hospital.'," said Colburn. She added that the daycare provider never showed up at the hospital or reached out to check on Harper's well-being.
For the last two months, Colburn and Briar had no answers as to how their baby girl died. They had been waiting for the toxicolgy results to come in. On March 13, 2019, they would learn that their daughter had ingested more than one dose of Diphenhydramine, which is the active, sedating ingredient in antihistamines, such as Benadryl.
Days later, Stacey Vaillencourt, 53, was arrested and charged with Manslaughter and Cruelty to a Child. She pleaded not guilty and was released on $25,000.
"Blake and I both want for her, the person who was solely taking care of her at the time to be held responsible. There really was no need for it. There's no need to give a healthy, happy baby anything to sedate them. There really is no reason. We don't understand. I don't know if we'll ever understand. It's just awful," said Colburn.
Many unanswered questions remain. The family hoping that there is Justice for Harper. The family will also be pushing for "Harper's Law", to see stricter penalties for in-home daycares and mandatory cameras for surveillance.
"When you have a child that can't talk or stand up for themselves, you don't know what's going on and the person you think you can trust, they could be doing something you don't know about. Unfortunately for us, it makes us never want to use a day care again," said Colburn."
Another 50 something white provider. Licensed. I've seen this pattern for so many years.
Mandatory cameras? Um no If we are going to require cameras to protect kids then we need to require them when they are under the care of the mother, father, step parents etc. Daycare providers comprise one fourth of a percent of the total life altering injuries and death in children. Mothers either acting alone or with others comprise nearly three quarters of the deaths.
We wouldn't require mothers to be on camera because it would be a violation of their right to privacy. That's the same problem with requiring them in daycare. If she believed cameras should be there she could have found one that had them. She searched three months for a daycare. Find a daycare that provides the services you need.
Every time I see a Benadryl or sedative daycare death I always come down to the same thing. Crying. Crying and no space to have the crying child in an area where it doesn't affect the other kids and the provider can walk away and take a break. That requires SPACE. Space is a huge issue in child care and lack thereof dominoes it's way into these kinds of incidences. I'm not saying it's the ONLY cause but I truly believe it contributes to providers doing stupid things like doping to avoid crying.
I can also guarantee the other kids in the daycare had the same medication in them. I wish police would require a tox screen on EVERY daycare kid when there is a death in a daycare. That day.
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