KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An eight-year-old boy died from what his mother says was a severe asthma attack, but now the mother confirms she’s being investigated for his death.
According to the police report Tyler Lane’s mother, Ericka Pulluaim, is being investigated for not providing her son with immediate medical care. A social worker at Children’s Mercy Hospital called the police saying a little boy was rushed to the hospital with a brain hemorrhage because he didn’t receive care for his asthma.
In August, Pulluaim says she got a call from the nurse at her son’s school to pick him up or bring him his asthma medicine because he was wheezing.
Pulluaim says she brought him home and didn’t take him to the hospital. She says when she got her son from school he was fine, but a day later she says he suffered a massive asthma attack and never recovered.
“I did not kill my son,” she said.
Pulluaim wants people to know when she picked up her eight-year-old son from school in mid-August she thought he was fine. She didn’t think his breathing was labored so she didn’t take him to the hospital.
“He was acting like nothing was wrong with him. He jumped from around the corner playing with me and his sister,” said Pulluaim.
Pulluaim’s boyfriend, brain Garner, agrees saying lane appeared to be okay when he came home.
But garner says later that evening the third grader started to sweat and complained about being hot.
“I told him to lay down and hold his arms up and breathe a little bit, and he did it and he was alright, and then probably a hour later he was feeling bad again,” said Garner.
Garner says the family decided to call 911.
Vickie Pulluaim, Lane’s maternal grandmother, says while her grandson appeared to act normal she says he was struggling to breathe and she thought he needed to go to the hospital.
“He was already out. His eyes just rolled up in his head and then his body just went limp,” said Vickie. “His breathing was different. I asked my daughter ‘let’s take him to the hospital,’ (but) we didn’t go.”
Vickie says her daughter thought he would be okay.
I believe if we had taken him to the hospital he would have lived,” said Vickie.
Despite what the police report suggests, Ericka Pulluaim says she loved her son and did what she thought was appropriate.
“I would never hurt my son,” she said.
Pulluaim says she gave her son an inhaler as she has done in the past, and had no idea the asthma attack he suffered in august would be fatal.
