Up next in 10
She Refused My Brother's Inhaler… And Watched Him Suffocate | Early Fast news
Aug 11, 2025
#redditrelationship #aita #redditstories She Refused My Brother's Inhaler… And Watched Him Suffocate | Early Fast news What should’ve been a normal night with a five-star babysitter turned into every sibling’s worst nightmare. When Tommy’s asthma attack started, Mrs. Finch insisted on following a text instead of saving his life. As I watched my little brother struggle for air, I realized the adults were more afraid of being wrong than doing what was right. This is the story of medical neglect, misplaced authority, and how a child almost died while others stood by. 📢 Share this story to raise awareness about trusting children, recognizing emergencies, and standing up when it matters most. #KidsDeserveBetter #MedicalNeglect #JusticeForTommy
View Video Transcript
0:00
My parents left for their anniversary
0:02
dinner around 6:00 p.m. The babysitter,
0:05
Mrs. Finch, from the agency, was a
0:07
picture of professionalism.
0:09
She had five-star reviews, a calm
0:11
demeanor, and even brought homemade
0:13
cookies. My parents gave her a single
0:16
simple instruction.
0:18
Don't let Tommy have his preventative
0:20
inhaler until 8:00 p.m. He'll try to get
0:23
out of homework.
0:25
They were talking about his daily
0:27
maintenance medicine. The one he used to
0:29
prevent attacks, not the blue one, the
0:31
rescue inhaler for emergencies.
0:34
It started in the backyard while Tommy
0:36
and I were playing tag. That tight
0:38
whistling sound, a breath pushing
0:40
through an airway that was closing. I
0:43
knew that sound. I was his sister. I
0:46
knew it in my bones.
0:48
Mrs. Finch, Tommy needs his rescue
0:50
inhaler, I said, my voice betraying the
0:52
panic gripping my chest. She looked at
0:55
me, her face a mask of patronizing
0:57
disbelief.
0:59
"Your parents specifically said no
1:01
inhaler until 8:00 p.m." she said, her
1:03
voice dripping with authority with,
1:05
"That's his other inhaler. This is an
1:07
emergency," I pleaded, but she was
1:08
already shaking her head. She pulled out
1:10
her phone, showing me my mom's text.
1:12
"Tommy's inhaler at 8:00 p.m. Don't give
1:15
in if he asks early." "See," she said
1:18
triumphantly. "I'm following
1:20
instructions."
1:22
Tommy was getting worse. He sat on the
1:24
couch, his face pale, his small hands
1:27
pulling at the collar of his shirt as if
1:29
it were a noose. I texted my mom
1:31
frantically. Nothing. I called my dad.
1:34
Voicemail. My phone was at 7%. A ticking
1:38
clock. Mrs. Finch, meanwhile, was on her
1:41
own phone. "How to tell fake asthma from
1:44
real asthma?" she muttered, reading an
1:46
article out loud. "Children often
1:48
hyperventilate from anxiety."
1:51
She grabbed a paper bag from the kitchen
1:53
and tried to force it over Tommy's
1:54
mouth. Stop! I screamed. "That's for
1:58
panic attacks." Tommy's entire body was
2:01
working to breathe now. His stomach
2:03
muscles clenched and his shoulders
2:04
heaved up and down. The sound he made
2:07
was like a broken whistle, each breath a
2:09
struggle. Mrs. Finch, still in her
2:11
righteous delusion, called her
2:13
supervisor. The woman's voice, cold and
2:15
robotic, echoed through the kitchen.
2:18
Never deviate from parent instructions.
2:20
You're liable if something happens.
2:23
See, Mrs. Finch said, nodding along, her
2:26
eyes never leaving me. I'm doing the
2:28
right thing. Tommy tried to walk to us,
2:31
but his legs gave out. He dropped to his
2:33
knees, crawled two feet, and then
2:35
stopped, gasping for air. Mrs. Finch
2:38
rushed over, but not to help. He needs
2:40
to sit upright. My nephew has asthma.
2:43
She forced him into a kitchen chair,
2:45
refusing to let him lean forward, even
2:47
though I knew it was the only way he
2:48
could breathe. My phone died. She opened
2:51
all the windows, convinced that fresh
2:53
air helps, oblivious to the fact that
2:54
the freezing cold air was making his
2:56
asthma worse. Then she found the
2:58
eucalyptus essential oil. "This helps
3:01
breathing," she said, rubbing it on his
3:04
chest.
3:05
Tommy broke out in hives immediately,
3:08
his skin turning red and bumpy. Oh, she
3:11
said, her voice filled with a kind of
3:13
sick excitement. It's an allergic
3:16
reaction, not asthma. I'm calling 911.
3:20
Her face changed and she leaned close to
3:22
me, her voice a conspiratorial whisper.
3:26
Your mother mentioned the custody
3:27
situation with Tommy's biological
3:29
father. One call about medical neglect,
3:32
and he gets full custody. Is that what
3:34
you want? Her nurse friend, a voice on
3:37
the other end of a text, agreed with
3:39
her.
3:40
Always follow parent instructions to
3:42
avoid liability. A nurse agrees with me.
3:45
Tommy threw up. Just bile and spit.
3:47
Nothing really coming up because he
3:48
couldn't breathe enough to properly
3:50
vomit. Food poisoning. I knew it. She
3:54
declared, looking for Pepto-Bismol in
3:56
the cabinets. While she was explaining
3:58
the bad chicken to poison control, Tommy
4:01
slid off the chair. She tried to make
4:03
him sip water and he choked, water
4:05
coming out of his nose. She kept
4:07
checking her watch. Just 32 more
4:10
minutes. I'm saving your family from a
4:12
custody battle. Tommy whispered
4:15
something. I leaned close. His lips were
4:18
blue. Actually, blue, not just pale.
4:21
Blue, he whispered, a single tear
4:24
rolling down his face. That was the
4:26
moment I lost it. "I don't care what you
4:29
think," I screamed. "He's dying." I ran
4:32
for the medicine cabinet. She had locked
4:35
it earlier. The key was in her pocket.
4:38
She jumped up and blocked me, grabbing
4:39
my wrists. I am not losing another job
4:42
because kids manipulated me. I kicked
4:45
her right in the shin as hard as I
4:47
could. She doubled over and I snatched
4:49
the key from her pocket. My hands were
4:51
shaking so badly I could barely get the
4:53
cabinet open. She lunged for the
4:55
inhaler, yelling that I was assaulting
4:56
her and she was calling my parents. I
4:58
dodged, ran to Tommy. His lips weren't
5:01
blue anymore. They were purple. Purple
5:04
turning gray.
5:06
Just then, I heard a pounding on the
5:08
front door. Thank God. I shoved past
5:11
Mrs. Finch and unlocked it. Our
5:14
neighbor, a kind woman with an even
5:15
kinder face, took one look at us and
5:18
immediately pulled out her phone. 911.
5:21
My neighbor's child is not breathing. I
5:24
need an ambulance right now. The
5:26
paramedics arrived in minutes, but it
5:28
felt like hours. They put Tommy on
5:31
oxygen immediately. One of them turned
5:33
to Mrs. Finch.
5:35
How long was he like this? The parents
5:38
said medicine at 8:00 p.m. I was
5:39
following. Ma'am, the paramedic
5:41
interrupted. This child was in severe
5:44
respiratory distress. She shook her
5:46
phone at them. I have the text. They
5:48
said 8:00 p.m. The other paramedic
5:51
looked at it. This says preventative
5:53
inhaler. You denied him his rescue
5:56
inhaler. Through the window, I saw the
5:58
flashing lights of two police cars. Mrs.
6:00
Finch's face went white. The aftermath.
6:03
The hospital waiting room lights made an
6:05
awful buzzing sound. My parents burst
6:08
in, frantic and disheveled. My mom, in
6:11
her fancy anniversary dress, had mascara
6:13
streaming down her face. "Where's
6:16
Tommy?" she sobbed, shaking me. "My dad,
6:19
his tie all messed up, started grabbing
6:22
every nurse he could find."
6:24
Dr. Patel came out from behind the big
6:26
metal doors, her face grim. Tommy had
6:29
suffered severe respiratory failure and
6:31
was on a ventilator.
6:33
My mom's legs gave out. We saw him
6:36
through a little window, hooked up to
6:37
tubes and machines, his chest rising and
6:40
falling, but it wasn't him breathing. It
6:42
was the machine doing it for him. An
6:44
officer pulled me aside and had me go
6:45
through everything, writing in a small
6:47
notebook. I showed him my mom's text on
6:50
her phone and explained the difference
6:52
between the two inhalers.
6:54
His jaw tightened with every word.
6:57
My dad found me shaking in the hospital
6:59
chapel at 2:00 a.m. telling me it wasn't
7:01
my fault that I had saved Tommy, but all
7:04
I could see were those purple lips. We
7:06
found Mrs. Finch in the lobby, still
7:08
wearing yesterday's clothes, talking on
7:10
her phone about unclear instructions.
7:13
My dad stepped in front of her and told
7:15
her to stay away from us. Dr. Patel gave
7:17
us the official report. Severe hypoxic
7:21
brain injury narrowly avoided.
7:23
oxygen deprivation for 25 to 30 minutes.
7:27
Survived due to age and previous healthy
7:30
condition.
7:31
Permanent damage unlikely but possible.
7:35
The police would need her report. Then,
7:37
to our shock, child protective services
7:39
showed up, not for Mrs. Finch, but for
7:41
us. They questioned why we had left
7:43
unclear instructions and if we regularly
7:46
left our children with inadequate
7:47
supervision. My mom, completely
7:50
unhinged, screamed at them. We had hired
7:53
a licensed agency with five-star
7:54
reviews. Tommy was home within a few
7:57
days, but he needed breathing treatments
7:59
twice a day, and his bedroom looked like
8:02
a mini hospital. He started carrying his
8:05
rescue inhaler everywhere, clutching it
8:07
in his sleep until his knuckles turned
8:08
white. He couldn't go back to school. He
8:10
was terrified. Detective Morrison called
8:12
to say that Mrs. Finch had hired a
8:14
defense attorney, claiming she had
8:16
followed industry standard protocols.
8:18
She was telling everyone we were
8:19
negligent parents who left unclear
8:21
instructions. I found her nursing
8:23
license had expired 3 years before she
8:25
almost killed Tommy. She'd been
8:27
advertising herself as a child care
8:29
professional with medical training the
8:30
whole time and the agency had never
8:32
bothered to check. Our lawyer filed a
8:35
civil suit against Mrs. Finch and the
8:37
Guardian Angels agency for gross
8:38
negligence. They countered with a
8:41
defamation lawsuit claiming we were
8:42
lying, but other parents started coming
8:44
forward with similar stories. An EpiPen
8:47
withheld during an allergic reaction,
8:49
seizure medication delayed. They all
8:50
shared the same experience. Mrs. Finch,
8:52
believing the kids were faking it,
8:54
refused to give them their life-saving
8:56
medication. The agency, in turn, backed
8:58
her up every time, using the following
9:00
parent instructions defense. The DA's
9:02
office decided to file criminal charges
9:04
against Mrs. Finch for reckless
9:06
endangerment of a child, a felony that
9:08
could mean jail time. Our lawyer and the
9:11
other parents provided the evidence of
9:13
systemic negligence. Her deposition
9:16
video went viral. She sat there, a blank
9:19
look on her face, repeating that
9:21
children often exaggerate symptoms for
9:23
attention. Tommy, his tiny hand
9:26
clutching his inhaler, watched the news
9:28
coverage from the car. He started
9:31
sleeping in my room, waking up in a
9:33
panic and gasping for air. The
9:35
psychologist said the fear might stay
9:37
with him forever.
9:39
A few weeks later, Mrs. Finch showed up
9:41
at our door with her lawyer. The sight
9:43
of her triggered a full-blown panic
9:45
attack in Tommy. He started gasping and
9:47
clutching his chest, a mirror image of
9:49
the asthma attack she had caused. The
9:51
paramedics gave him oxygen while she
9:53
stood there watching, no emotion on her
9:55
face at all. Our lawyer was relentless.
9:58
He found out she had been forced to
10:00
resign from a hospital years ago for
10:01
ignoring doctor's orders.
10:04
My Tik Tok account, Kids Medical Rights,
10:06
went viral.
10:08
I shared Tommy's story and other kids
10:10
shared their own stories about adults
10:12
who wouldn't listen. The trial was set.
10:15
Mrs. Finch's lawyer, in a final act of
10:17
desperation, tried to paint us as
10:19
moneyhungry parents, but it was too
10:22
late. The evidence was overwhelming. The
10:25
video of her watching Tommy have a panic
10:27
attack was the nail in the coffin.
10:30
Yesterday, the judge sentenced her to
10:31
prison. She will serve time for reckless
10:34
endangerment, for stealing my brother's
10:36
breath, and for shattering the trust of
10:38
countless families.
10:40
She didn't just almost kill my brother,
10:42
she stole his peace of mind. And for
10:45
that there is no sentence long
#Kids & Teens
#Pediatrics
#Violence & Abuse