When I was in grade school we had a Community Dentist and Health Clinic attached to the school, and once a year each and every child was marched through the doors of the Clinic, in groups of four or five, to have their teeth checked.  I can remember little things about those visits, including the butterflies hanging from the ceiling, their wings made from cellophane and their bodies from the little cotton logs that were inevitably stuffed into your mouth as you lay back in the big chair.  The sun streamed in through a large window, I remember the room was very bright, and I remember the few other kids sitting along the wall to one side, waiting their turn.   I remember the kids who had just been, arriving back at the classroom and announcing who was next, and feeling relieved when my name wasn’t called.

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A 5-year old Chicago girl went into her dentist to get a few cavaties filled and a few caps put on her teeth and now lies brain dead in a hospital. Apparently she is the victim of anesthesia gone tragically wrong.

The FDA estimates that 1 in 10,000 children die while under anesthesia. The younger the child, the more susceptible they are to the risks of anesthesia.

What a sad story…

From the Chicago Sun Times:

Relatives told girl brain dead after dental work

September 26, 2006
BY MAUREEN O’DONNELL AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters
Diamond Brownridge, the 5-year-old Southwest Side girl who slipped into a coma after being sedated by her dentist, was clinging to life late Monday at Children’s Memorial Hospital.
Relatives were at her bedside, praying and singing her favorite songs by the group Cheetah Girls. But after Diamond suffered both brain and organ damage, “We’re just praying for a miracle,” said her mother, Ommettress Travis.

Diamond remained on life support, and a relative said doctors have told the family she is brain dead. The relative said the family may make a decision today on the child’s fate.

The cause of her coma was unknown. Her family said Diamond, who recently started kindergarten, has no known medical problems or allergies
The 30-pound girl tolerated anesthesia well in April as she was treated for a broken arm suffered at preschool, her mother said. But on Monday she regretted following instructions to leave Diamond when her dental work began Saturday at the Little Angel Dental office in the Little Village neighborhood.

“I would never leave the room again. That’s my biggest regret,” said Travis, a medical assistant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “I probably would have noticed when her heart stopped.”

Update: Diamond passed away Wednesday at Children’s Memorial Hospital…