With her young teenager becoming more independent and active in school activities, Jackie Fedro, like many parents, wanted a way to make keeping tabs and checking in on her daughter easier. That's how 13-year-old Gabbie got her first cell phone.
However, little did Jackie or Gabbie know, things were able to take a drastic turn.
Jackie Fedro
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Within a week, the Illinois mother found herself warning parents of this unexpected danger in cell phone use, reports BuzzFeed News.
Gabbie was chatting on her phone, when Fedro heard her suddenly scream out in pain. Running down the stairs, clutching her neck, Gabbie continued to cry out, unable to catch her breath.
Jackie Fedro
“It’s the worst feeling in the world as a mother to watch your child scream in pain and have no idea how to help her,” Fedro told BuzzFeed. “It took her a good five minutes before she was even able to tell us what had happened.”
Gabbie had been using her new T-Mobile LG d500 while it was plugged into the wall. Gabbie told her mother that she was suddenly shocked by the cord. The current ran through a necklace she was wearing, causing 2nd-degree burns on her neck.
Scott Wolfson of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission told BuzzFeed News that burn cases connected to cell phone usage are rare, but can happen. He warns against using generic brand chargers or replacement batteries.
In most cases, burns from cell phones arise when the batteries overheat, Wolfson told BuzzFeed News. The New York Police Department recently issued a warning about not sleeping with a cell phone under pillows for this very reason.
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In fact, studies show that sleeping with your phone near you reduces the quality of your sleep.
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The light from your smartphone can make it such that you are less likely to fall a sleep or have a good night's rest.
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Fedro said that Gabbie had been using the factory-issued charger that originally came with the phone. T-Mobile sent Fedro a new phone and offered to pay for Gabbie's medical bills.