No money for hospital, mom takes care of wound herself
Jan 8, 2003
No money for hospital, mom takes care of wound herself
DAVE SHELTON
dshelton@hernandotoday.com
SPRING HILL - Blood was spewing from a three-inch gash on the
10-year-old boy's arm just two days after Christmas. Chad had fallen down and opened a nasty wound
that his mother later admitted needed immediate medical attention. But the disabled 41-year-old
mother had no medical insurance. She didn't know what to do. Distraught over the recent death of her
mother, Charlene M. Hartt, of 13255 Asbury St. in Spring Hill, faced a dilemma. Her son's arm was
bleeding badly. And her brother's children had been left in her care and had to be watched. Deputies
claim what she did next was wrong. She grabbed a sewing needle and thread and sewed the wound
closed. She has no medical training and had no anesthetic. The next day family members and their
pastor confronted Hartt about the boy's wound and how she had treated it. She admitted sewing it closed.
Her family took Chad to a local hospital emergency room where the makeshift stitches were removed and the
wound was properly treated, according to the sheriff's office. The wound was infected and required
antibiotics, according to hospital records. The incident was reported to the state Department of
Children and Families. Hartt told a state investigator that she knew what she had done was wrong. On
Monday, Hartt was questioned by Sheriff's Deputy Tom Banks. She told him that at the time her son was
injured she didn't realize that the hospital would have treated the boy and sent her a bill that she
could pay when she had the money. "The defendant stated that she fully understands that what she had
done was wrong and will cooperate in any way needed to bring a close to the matter," Banks reported.
The mother was arrested on a felony charge of child neglect and lodged in the Hernando County Jail on
$2,000 bail. County records show Hartt bought her two-bedroom home in 1997. If convicted, Hartt
could face up to 15 years in prison.
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