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Lynn Mother Says Son Put Dirty Needle In His Mouth At Playground

LYNN (CBS) - A Lynn mother got the scare of her life when she says her one-year-old son put a dirty needle in his mouth at a local playground.

"It is horrifying," says Christina Eichel. "I can't even bring my kids to the park anymore because I am so messed up from the whole thing that happened."

According to the Lynn mother, her one-year-old son Miguel grabbed a dirty syringe that was sitting on the top portion of a slide at Ames Playground.

Eichel says, "I grabbed the needle out of his mouth and threw it!"

A nurse couldn't find a puncture wound but the little boy has been tested for HIV and Hepatitis. Those tests came back negative.

It happened last Tuesday. Lynn Department of Public Works cleaned the park Monday morning. The commissioner says it was an isolated incident.

At the park Monday, one parent said, "Too many people come in here at night time you know, that is what the problem is."

Another local teenager put it this way.

"Well that is disgusting," he says. "I always see people drinking and smoking but I didn't think people were shooting up. That is crazy."

The syringe and needle were never found although police did look for them.

Christina now worries.

"I haven't been able to sleep. I have been up all night wondering what is going to happen," says Eichel. "Every time I bring him to get his blood drawn what they are going to tell me? It's just scary."

For now, Christina is optimistic that everything is OK but she says doctors have told her she must return for tests every six weeks for the foreseeable future to make sure things stay that way.

Christina Eichel says last Wednesday she found two more needles along the street which leads to the playground.

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