We can all agree that medication, no matter its purpose, should not be played with and should be taken according to a doctor’s instructions.
But when children come into the picture, this becomes especially true, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Redditor hospitalbillpost was recently shocked when their nephew not only stole her daughter’s prescription but then attempted to get high with it.
But when their sister threatened to sue them for their nephew’s access to the medication, the Original Poster (OP) felt this was a parenting issue rather than an accessibility issue.
They asked the sub:
“AITA for not paying my nephew’s hospital bill?”
One of the OP’s children had a lot of health issues, including the need for blood thinners.
“I have four kids: Alexis (15), Lucas (12), Ronnie (11), and Allie (8). Alexis has a lot of health issues. We’ve been in and out of the hospital for months.”
“Something important to know is that Alexis has a PICC line (big take-home IV) and is getting blood thinner injections every day so we do have needles and vials around the house.”
“She also occasionally gets pain meds through her PICC line.”
The OP’s nephew recently showed an interest in Alexis’s medication.
“My sister has two kids: Andrew (12) and Alyssa (9). She brought them to the house to play with my kids not too long ago.”
“Alexis had a minor procedure a couple of days before they came. I was showing my sister a video of Alexis at the house right after the procedure. She was still very high and it was hilarious (she’s fine with me showing family these videos).”
“Andrew came into the kitchen, heard the video, and asked what it was.”
“I said that I was just showing his mom a video of Alexis after she got some pain meds.”
“A few hours later, the kids were grabbing a snack and Andrew took the container with needles and vials of the blood thinner out of the pantry. He asked what it was and I said it was Alexis’s medicine.”
Then something terrible happened.
“My sister and I left to take our dogs for a walk, and I wanted to get a snack out of the pantry when we came back.”
“I noticed Alexis’s medicine box was moved, so I looked at it and one of the blood thinner vials was a lot more empty than before and a needle/syringe was missing.”
“My sister and I interrogated all of the kids, and we found out Andrew gave himself a high dose of the blood thinner because he thought it was her pain meds and he wanted to get high.”
“(To clarify, Alexis’s medication is by injection, not an infusion. All you need to do is inject it into the subcutaneous tissue and I don’t even know if he did that correctly.)”
The OP’s sister had a shocking reaction.
“My sister rushed Andrew to the hospital and he stayed there overnight.”
“Now she’s sending me the hospital bill because I was the one who left the medicine where he could get it.”
“I’m refusing to pay because if my 11- and 12-year-old boys and eight-year-old girl know not to touch other people’s medicines, her 12-year-old should be able to see a vial and syringe and not drug himself.”
“She’s threatening to sue and I really don’t want to go the legal route with this.”
“AITA for not paying the hospital bills?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some agreed with the OP that this was more about parenting and less about access.
“NTA.”
“The OP said, ‘I’m refusing to pay because if my 11- and 12-year-old boys and eight-year-old girl know not to touch other people’s medicines, her 12-year-old should be able to see a vial and syringe and not drug himself.”
“Yes, exactly. Your sister has a huge problem and it has nothing to do with a 12-year-old who doesn’t know not to touch other people’s medicine. No, it’s worse than that. Andrew knew what he was doing was wrong, but was motivated to do it anyway, to get high.”
“That tells me this is not Andrew’s first experiment with illegal drugs or prescription drug abuse. His experimentation is totally fearless, which indicates he has an addiction problem that could have started years ago.”
“The blood thinner he took is the least of that kid’s problems. It’s time to start testing the boy’s blood for all drugs on a regular basis. He’s got issues.” – North_Badger6101
“NTA. Andrew KNEW not to touch it.”
“It’s clearly no secret that your daughter is ill (so sorry for that, I can only imagine how difficult it’s been for you all).”
“He was specifically told it was her medicine. A 12-year-old does not then need the follow-up of ‘by the way, make sure you don’t take a random vial out and inject yourself with whatever you want!'”
“Tell your sister she has bigger issues than Andrew’s medical bills. This is terrifying, drug-seeking behavior, and she could have easily ended up paying for a funeral.” – Jinx983
“The fact that Andrew so easily injected himself, a 12-year-old boy, is insane.”
“I have many health problems too and had to inject myself once a week at one point. I was so scared of doing it that I got my husband to inject me. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“Again, the fact that Andrew injected himself so quickly and without fear says that he’s definitely done it before. You don’t just shoot something up like that without giving thought to what might happen.”
“For starters, did he really think he could get high and no one would notice?? Did he think no one would realize Alexis’ medication was missing?? What was his response to all of this going to be? I tripped and fell on a needle?? This is addict-level s**t right here and sis better watch out because he’s 12 and already shooting something up.”
“NTA.” – nrjjsdpn
“NTA. So your sister left without explaining to HER son what it was and the importance of not touching it. I am assuming you or your sister told him to put it back and not just leave him holding the items. If you did, I would switch to say YTA.”
“I am really concerned that Andrew is looking for a high and is willing to steal for it. I would even dare to say he probably already has an addiction. It’s not like Andrew is Allie’s age or younger and found it lying out in the open. This was no accident.” – drownigfishy
“NTA. The mother is going to end up making her children the type that doesn’t take responsibility for their actions because they see Mommy finding something else to blame.”
“And people saying YTA for not having the medications locked up? I guess you need to lock up your kitchen knives since they could cause harm if a kid grabs them. And turn the water off on the street, since a kid could drown. And the electricity as well, since a kid could get electrocuted or turn on a stove or oven. All of which would/could be tragic. Her kids are old enough that you would think they wouldn’t do stuff like this.”
“Regarding paying the hospital bill/her threatening to sue: If she has Health insurance, and wants to be a s**t, she may be able to contact them and tell them what happened, and then the insurance company could sue.”
“Now, if she doesn’t have Health Insurance, AND if you have Homeowners insurance, you could tell her to sue, since whatever she gets (up to a certain dollar amount) would be paid by your Homeowners insurance, except for the deductible. This way, the bill gets paid and your sister isn’t in debt for it…” – Got_Nuthin
Others agreed and felt the wrong person in this situation was threatening to sue.
“I would send a bill to the sister for the medication HER SON wasted by taking what’s not his!” – Popcornandcomments
“NTA. Your nephew committed a crime. He stole your child’s medication with the intent to get high. He’s old enough to know better than to steal someone’s medication and your sister needs to get in front of this quickly before she ends up with an addict on her hands.” – CatahoulaBubble
“Lawyer up with the intent to sue since he stole medication which is a crime. That’ll shut her up real quick. NTA.” – constipatedcatlady
“NTA. The blood thinners are a prescription. Tell your sister that you will have to file charges against your nephew for theft of prescription drugs because that’s what he did. His emergency room records can be subpoenaed in a criminal case.”
“You may want to go that route anyway. That boy needs help!! I don’t know anyone who stole needles and meds at 12 to shoot up. Yikes!!” – Dizzy_Emotion7381
“Another Redditor said, ‘The fact that Andrew so easily injected himself, a 12-year-old boy, is insane.'”
“I have many health problems too and had to inject myself once a week at one point. I was so scared of doing it that I got my husband to inject me. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“Again, the fact that Andrew injected himself so quickly and without fear says that he’s definitely done it before. You don’t just shoot something up like that without giving thought to what might happen.”
“I’ve been giving myself shots for over 20 years. I’m still hesitant and it takes me a minute or two to get my nerve up every week when I have to inject myself.”
“I’m not some wimp who cowers in fear at everything. It’s just giving myself an injection is not an easy process, and neither is filling the syringe, making sure I have the appropriate dosage, making sure I am injecting it in the right spot, and making sure there are no air bubbles in the syringe.”
“I work with delinquent adolescents. This boy has been exposed to drug use and may have done his own injections in the past. Perhaps someone else injected him with some substance in the past. It’s concerning that he was able to do all the steps of giving himself an injection, and WAS MOTIVATED to inject himself with a substance to get high. I think he needs to be tested for other drug use regularly.”
“I agree that, if the sister sues this woman, this woman needs to sue her sister back. I also think this woman should be contacting the police to report the theft of the syringe and the medications.”
“He needs to be charged so that someone (since his mom won’t) will ensure he’s getting appropriate treatment for his drug usage and possibly keep him from becoming a full-blown addict in the future.”
“NTA.” – cecebebe
The subReddit was deeply concerned by the situation they had just read about and hoped that the OP would do much more than worry about paying their nephew’s medical bills.
It sounded like the OP needed to respond to their sister by getting their own lawyer, specifically to teach their nephew a lesson about stealing someone’s property but also to potentially catch an addiction in the making.