To Kill A Child

photo by Jonathan Schechter
49! That is how many unattended infants or toddlers died horrific deaths by hyperthermia in cars last year in the United States. Extreme heat has Oakland County and a large slice of the Midwest sweltering with the temperatures hovering near three digits. When the outside temperature reaches 100 F the inside of a car soars to 140 degrees.  A small child or infant in a car has no way to regulate environmental heat and take preventive methods that wildlife and thinking sober adults can and will do.
 Heatstroke occcurs when a person's temperature exceeds 104 degrees. And when the core body temperature reaches 107 the results are almost always lethal with the brain cooked, vital organ cells damaged and thermoregulatory mechanisms overwhelmed. Worse yet, toddler or infant's temperature soars thee to five times faster than an adults with the results tragic.
 "I was only gone a little while" won't change the facts.

And yet it happens every year: A helpless toddler or infant is left unattended with the window "cracked open a bit" as the driver runs errands.  If you see an unattended child or infant in a car there is one thing you must do at once: Dial 911. You have no other choice.  The sun gives life to our planet, yet it kills those that can not retreat from the heat.( More info: www.safekids.org/nlyca)