Toddler’s Finger Was Severed At Daycare & Her Parents Don’t Think It Was an Accident

Keep Reading ↓

A Washington Mom and Dad are fuming after they entrusted the care of their toddler to a local daycare, which they now believe not only seriously injured their daughter, but also lied about it.

Erin Kays first found out that her daughter, Leigha, was injured after a staff member from Children’s Academy 2 in Oak Harbor, Washington, called.

The employee informed her that an ambulance was on its way for the 2-year-old after she allegedly fell off a rocking chair. But upon seeing the extent of Leigha’s injury — her finger was completely severed — Kays strongly believes that what the daycare is claiming happened isn’t the truth. The parents also believe that the school is blaming the child in an attempt cover up its own accident.

Leigha was severely injured at daycare with a rocking chair.

According to Kays, she got a call a few hours after she dropped Leigha off at daycare, saying that she had been involved in an accident that involved a rocking chair. She was told that part of her toddler’s finger was cut off and an ambulance had been called.

A piece of Leigha’s finger on her left hand was completely severed, and according to Kays, her daughter’s finger tip was placed in a ziplock bag.

But after Kays saw the extent of her daughter’s injury at the hospital, she realized that the daycare’s story didn’t seem to add up. “It’s your baby, and a chunk of her finger is just not there. It’s just in a little plastic bag next to you. It’s devastating,” she told KIRO 7.

The daycare staff put the blame on Leigha in an “Ouchie Report,” and the Mother thinks they’re lying.

Daycare staff reportedly told Kays that Leigha was standing on the rocking chair and got hurt from falling.

The Daycare provided the parents with an “Ouchie Report” blaming the child, saying that they asked her to sit down but she refused. The accident report said that Leigha continued to stand on the rocking chair, causing it to tip over, but Kays doesn’t see how this could sever a finger and thinks this is a cover-up to protect the daycare.

Instead, she believes that the accident actually happened when a staff member rocked over Leigha’s finger tip.

Kays wrote on Facebook, “A reliable source informed us that one of the teachers at the daycare (it hasn’t come to light who that person is) sat down in the rocker, rocking back over my daughter’s finger. The daycare had the audacity to blame my daughter for this incident. They lied to us, lied on the report, and then changed the story again when they informed other parents of the incident.” 

The missing part of Leigha’s finger couldn’t be reattached, and her parents are calling the daycare out.

Kays shared with loved ones on a GoFundMe page that doctors weren’t able to reattach the top of Leigha’s finger.

At this time, they don’t know if she’ll need surgery in the future. “It didn’t cut through any bone, but pretty much all the skin and tissue on the top and including the entire nail and back of the finger just got ripped off,” Kays said, according to KING 5 News. “And enough of the nail bed is left and it should grow back and be completely normal.”

Kays shared that she filed both police and Child Protective Services reports that will hopefully spark investigations into the daycare’s facilities. She also hopes to clear up any misconceptions as the story has gone viral and they continue to search for the truth. “The daycare did call 911, the EMTs were there when we arrived. However, the daycare only attempted to stop the bleeding using a wet paper towel, no ice or gauze,” she wrote on Facebook. “Also, the severed part of my daughter’s finger was not kept cold or on ice, it was thrown into a little bag. Lastly, the daycare removed the rocking chair from facility while we were still in the hospital.”

The frustrated parents honestly just want to know the truth about what happened.

The director of Children’s Academy 2 told KIRO 7 that they feel badly about Leigha’s injury but that they are proud to be licensed by the state. “We really want to know more than anything what happened to our daughter,” Kays told KING 5 News.

This isn’t the first complaint against the daycare.

According to the Department of Early Licensing, there have been five “valid complaints” lodged against Children’s Academy 2 over the past five years.

Leigha’s dad, Anthony Drews, wrote on Facebook. “No, this IS negligence … Myself and Leigha’s mother Erin Kays not only are trying to aid our daughter in healing and find her justice, but also prevent any further injuries to anyone else’s children from The Children’s Academy.”

And they want to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen to another family.

“The details are still surfacing, but the fact remains that my daughter is missing part of her finger,” Kays added on GoFundMe. “No child should have to be put through this, and we are hoping to get the daycare to take accountability.”

Kays is now warning parents that although you should be able to trust your community, unfortunately, moms and dads need to do more research into their childcare. “NO one’s child should ever have to suffer such an injury when the parents are supposed to be able to trust the daycare personnel with their children for hours on end,” Drews added on Facebook.