A woman is lucky to have survived an alleged New Year’s Eve horror poisoning after she reportedly drank a beverage offered by a stranger that was laced with antifreeze.
Kailey Kline, 23, was enjoying a night out with a group of friends at the Silver Dollar Bar and Grill in Cody, Wyoming, when she was offered a drink at around 1.30am. The mum-of-two received the beverage just before closing time, and was soon picked up by her fiancee, Shawn, who took her home following the night out.
She was barely home for 10 minutes before Shawn was forced to call an ambulance for his partner, who had started foaming at the mouth and experiencing seizures. The mum was flown to St Vincent Regional Hospital, a medical facility in Billings, Montana, around 100 miles north of her home, where she spent several days attached to a ventilator.
Local publication KTBX reported her drink may have been spiked by antifreeze, which is said to have a sweet taste that makes it easy to disguise when used as a poison in beverages. The substance is dangerous even in small amounts, but its toxic effects tend to develop slowly as the body breaks it down into its harmful biproducts.
Those biproducts are known to affect the nervous system, kidneys and blood chemistry, and initially causes symptoms like dizziness, fatigue and headaches. As the poisoning progresses, people may start slurring their speech, fall unconscious and start experiencing convulsions before becoming comatose.
Ms Kline miraculously survived her suspected run-in with the poison, but doctors have not yet confirmed for certain whether she was poisoned by the substance. Her blood was reportedly drawn too late following the incident for doctors to test whether it was in her system.
The mum spent six days in hospital and walked out on her own two feet on Monday, having been “adamant to walk on her own out of the hospital doors”. Ms Kline’s mum, Amber Espinoza, told Cowboy State Daily her daughter does not appear to have suffered permanent injury or organ damage following the incident.
But she is not fully recovered, with Ms Espinoza saying it would likely take her some time to return to fall health, especially since she is minding two children at home. Police representatives have said they are yet to make any arrests regarding the alleged incident, with Cody Police Lieutenant Juston Wead saying there were “some people we need to talk to”.
He said: “We’re still working through this case to solidify what happened.” Ms Kline’s mum said her daughter remembers the face of the person who handled her New Year’s Eve drink. The Lieutenant added the investigation is progressing “fairly rapidly”.
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