NANAIMO — When he learned his six-year-old son had been pricked by a needle discarded on school grounds, Mario Lagrotteria’s mind raced through options to keep his son safe from infection.
So when his son’s teacher called him from Fairview Community School at 3:30 p.m. Monday, he asked the teacher not to discard the syringe.
“I want to get them tested,” he said.
Lagrotteria, who has his own excavating business, immediately went to collect Kian from school. They were at the emergency department at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital within an hour.
“I didn’t know what to feel,” Lagrotteria said. “I’m the type of person that automatically goes into solution mode.”
On Tuesday, he contacted a medical laboratory to find out whether any local facilities could test the needle for infectious agents that could cause serious illness for his son.
An emergency doctor at the hospital reassured him, saying it was “extremely unlikely” his son would contract HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from a discarded needle, though it’s “a little more” likely for hepatitis.
Doctors told him it could take up to three months for any illness to show up in his son.
Kian, a kindergarten student, was playing under the concrete stairs behind the school with another child, when they found two discarded hypodermic needles.
The plastic syringes had obviously been used — they contained a small quantity of liquid residue and traces of blood.
The young children didn’t realize the danger.
Fascinated, the boy pulled and pushed the plunger in the tube.
At one point, a needle pierced the boy’s thumb.
“There’s a dot where it poked him,” Lagrotteria said.
Both children put the syringes in their pockets, and agreed not to tell the teachers.
“He was nervous to say anything.”
Other students reported it to staff that afternoon, and teachers contacted the children’s parents.
On Tuesday, Lagrotteria met with senior school staff, who said warning letters would be sent home to parents.
They also put him in touch with Island Health to help with testing. Students were all given safety talks on what to do if they find used needles.
Lagrotteria is satisfied authorities are addressing the problem.
“I still have a lot of concerns about whether my son has any infections,” he said. “That’s not going to change.
“My focus right now is that everybody does their part in trying to prevent this.”
