Baby dies on first day of day care

A police investigation is underway in Pennsylvania, to determine what caused the death of a three-month-old girl who stopped breathing during her first day in day care.

Authorities have closed Sharon’s Day Care in Treichlers, citing the center for “gross incompetence, negligence and misconduct,” records show.

PEOPLE report, in a post to a GoFundMe page launched for the child’s parents, McKenna Felmly’s father claims his baby daughter seemed healthy and happy the morning she was dropped off at the center.

Bryan Felmly wrote that McKenna’s mother, Adrienne Kromer, brought their infant daughter to the center so she could return to work after three-plus months of maternity leave.

The worried mother called the daycare center three times during the day. After hearing McKenna wouldn’t eat and had fallen fast asleep, Kromer started driving to Sharon’s to pick the baby up, Felmly wrote.

But before she arrived, McKenna had stopped breathing and was already in an ambulance heading for the hospital, Felmly wrote.

McKenna was pronounced dead soon after arriving at the emergency room.

gofundme 1 gofundme 3

A police spokesman tells PEOPLE McKenna’s death is not being handled as suspicious yet, as an autopsy failed to show any signs of trauma to the child’s body.

Blood work is still being performed, the police spokesman says, and detectives have been interviewing McKenna’s relatives, family friends and the center’s staff.

“We have no words, no answers, no nothing,” Felmly wrote. “Our family is now broken. I’m not sure how we are supposed to go on. There’s no reason why a 3.5 month old healthy baby girl should have lost her life.”

“Parents, please hold your babies a little longer today and hold them close. Life is too precious. Cherish every moment of every day. Be patient with your babies. Enjoy those sleepless nights because it’s additional time spent with your baby. We would take a million sleepless nights for the rest of our lives just to have her back with us.

Our sweet little princess never learned to walk, but she now has wings.”

It could be several weeks before testing reveals McKenna’s exact cause of death.

Share your comments below.

Images via Gofundme.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.

25 Comments

- - mom112217 said
  - 26 May 2016
    10:00 am
A very sad and tragic story,l hope the parents don’t blame themselves for putting her in childcare and l hope they get the answers they need.

- - mom113991 said
  - 17 May 2016
    11:29 pm
what an absolute tragedy. Who knows if this would have happened that day whether she went to day care or not, whatever the case though…this poor little bubba didnt deserve this

- - deb_gs said
  - 30 Apr 2016
    9:23 pm
The family are very brave to think of others during this tragic time of their lives. I hope that one day that they will find peace.

- - tessie said
  - 21 Apr 2016
    10:59 am
My heart goes out to the parents for their tragic and unexpected loss of their beautiful daughter.

- - ella12 said
  - 19 Apr 2016
    11:49 am
This is just awful, so sad, I could nearly cry.

- - rovermum said
  - 18 Apr 2016
    1:35 pm
Noooo, this is such a sad story. How did this happen? This family desperately needs answers. My thoughts go out to them.

- - mom91861 said
  - 17 Apr 2016
    6:18 pm
reading this story gave me goosebumps & the hair on the back of my neck to rise, Such a terrible waste of life, such a tradegy for the parents

- - cherz said
  - 15 Apr 2016
    9:38 pm
My thoughts and prayers for the family.
RIP sweet McKeena.

- - mom57665 said
  - 15 Apr 2016
    7:38 pm
So tragic. I’m so scared to take my son to daycare or anywhere.

- - june11 said
  - 15 Apr 2016
    6:11 pm
Like any new Mum she was anxious about her baby. Babies don’t normally refuse a feed unless there is a problem, but that could easily have been a reaction to not being used to being fed by strangers. Being the first day that was probably what the staff thought. Some are “fussy” and if you don’t hold them the way they are used to being held they will reject their bottle. I had seen and handled a friend’s baby several times but he refused the first bottle I offered him. I handed him back to his Mum and he drank it. grrr!! I’m sure the staff member would have noticed if the baby wasn’t breathing properly when put down for a sleep. A work colleague of mine was also a St. John Ambulance Volunteer. He attended an emergency call one night. The tiny baby had passed away. One thing they noticed was that the nappy had a very strong ammonia odour. Whether they found a definite link or not I don’t know. Research is still ongoing. Occasionally it is definitely linked to a heart problem, other times they never find the exact cause.

- - aprilb1 said
  - 15 Apr 2016
    2:25 pm
So very sad, I can’t even imagine what you are going through

- - mom155366 said
  - 14 Apr 2016
    10:37 pm
How sad, my heart goes out to the parents and grandparents, i know too well what it’s like to lose your child I lost mine 3 days shy of him being 1 month old, such a tragedy, you have your wings now baby girl fly high
- mom134803 replied
  
  15 Apr 2016 , 6:53 am
  Such sad story ! Sending prayers & blessings to this family. Sorry to hear you have to go through the experience of losing your baby as well mom 1555366 !!
- - mom71495 said
  - 14 Apr 2016
    9:47 pm
My thoughts and prayers for peace and comfort are with both the parents on the loss of their precious daughter.

- - mom101628 said
  - 14 Apr 2016
    8:56 pm
Terrible thing to have happened – don’t know how I would have coped if this had happened to my littlie when they were in day care.

- - meedee said
  - 14 Apr 2016
    8:26 pm
Hopefully there was nothing that anyone did that caused this child to pass.
It wont get the parents their child back but it would be better then thinking that someone did something horrible to her.