Maryland Community Newspapers Online
Damascus resident Evelyn Kwofie was on duty as a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Northwest Hospital in Baltimore when her 31-month-old toddler was found entangled in a drapery cord at her home Sunday afternoon.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.
Reached at home Monday, she said the family is still trying to absorb the tragedy.
"I'm always the one comforting families," she said.
She thanked the community for its support.
Thapelo Andre Kwofie was home with his father and an older brother at about 3 p.m. when he was found unconscious in the family room, Evelyn Kwofie said.
Family members began cardiopulmonary resuscitation and called 911, county police reported. When police arrived at the townhouse in the unit block of Valley Park Court they found the boy unresponsive, police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks said.
The Fire and Rescue Service transported the boy to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville. Police say they believe the death was accidental. The boy's body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.
Thapelo, who the family called "Thapi," was their miracle child, Kwofie said.
After years of hoping for another child, he finally came along, nearly 10 years after his brother, Kojo, 12. Thapelo means "prayer" in one of the dialects of South Africa, she said.
"We prayed for all the years for a child and he came along," Kwofie said.
She and her husband, Andrew, also have a 6-month-old daughter, Ashanti.
Thapi was a happy child, smart, vibrant and energetic, she said. He had just learned his colors and was ready to go to preschool in the spring.
About once a month, a child between 7 months and 10 years old dies from window-cord strangulation and another child suffers a near strangulation, according to an alert posted Monday on the Rockville-based U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site.
"Children can wrap window covering cords around their necks or can pull cords that are not clearly visible but are accessible and become entangled in the loops. These incidents happen quickly and silently," the alert states.
The commission calls window coverings with cords one of the top five hidden hazards in the home. It has recalled more than five million window coverings, including Roman shades, roller and roll-up blinds, and vertical and horizontal blinds, in recent years.
The commission recommends the use of cordless window coverings in all homes where children live or visit.
Most window blinds sold before November 2000 have inner cords for raising the slats of the blinds that form a loop in which the child's neck can become entangled.
Risks to children can be reduced by cutting the loops of older window cords, putting on safety tassels and moving furniture away from blind cords.
Free repair kits are available from the Window Covering Safety Council by calling 800-506-4636 or visiting windowcoverings.org. For additional safety information visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov.