Young girl pricked by hypodermic needle in Boston park

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A little girl was pricked by a hypodermic needle, near a playground in Hyde Park. She says she was scared after she looked down and saw herself bleeding, and now doctors have her on powerful drugs to combat any potential disease.

The girl's family says the hypodermic needles are everywhere. FOX25's crew came across several needles while reporting on the story.

"I felt kinda scared," said 7-year-old Cadence Epstein. "I knew it was a needle and it could have a disease on it."

Cadence had been near Hyde Park's Iacono Playground when some city day campers discovered a hypodermic needle in the grass, and passed it around to have a look.

"They handed it to me, because I wanted to see it and I pricked myself," she said.

Her mother and grandmother rushed her to the hospital.

"That girl bawled her eyes out," said Cadence's grandmother Deborah Guinan.  "Grabbing on to me the whole way to the hospital, saying 'Grandma, I don't wanna die."

Doctors put her on some powerful drugs intended to block some serious diseases, like HIV and Hepatitis.

"I don't like it, and throwing up is one of the side effects," Cadence said.

Cadence's aunt Nancy Guinan says in Readville and Hyde Park, the needles are everywhere. She took FOX25's Elizabeth Hopkins to look for some, and it didn't take long before we did.

"This makes me very, very mad. Very mad, because this street is all kids. All little kids. And it's right here," she said.

They're kids like Cadence, who now has a low risk for contracting a disease.  

Now, the little girl has a warning for others who come across needles: "They shouldn't touch it, they should just tell an adult."

FOX 25 the city of Boston about the issue of needles in many areas of Hyde Park. They say they launched a "sharps" team in June to collect and combat the problem. In just that amount of time, 3,200 syringes have been collected, and counting.

Camp staffers check Iacono Park over daily to check for needles, and they regularly instruct campers to stay away from any needles the find.

Cox Media Group