Judge expands protection order against grandmother who allegedly tried to cure 4-year-old’s autism with nicotine

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - On Wednesday, Tammy Eddings-Dion stood at the podium in an El Paso County courtroom for a disposition hearing. Eddings-Dion is accused of child abuse and crimes against an at-risk juvenile. Arrest records allege she put nicotine patches on her 4-year-old grandson in an attempt to cure his autism.

On Wednesday, the judge granted the prosecution's request to expand the protection order for the mother, Kaylene Albuquerque, and her son against the grandmother, Eddings-Dion. Now, for the entire time Eddings-Dion faces these charges, she is not allowed to contact Kaylene Albuquerque or her son.

Kaylene Albuquerque spoke to KRDO13 about why she feels it's necessary to speak up for her son.

"I am mainly trying to advocate for my son. It's not something he can speak on. It's not something he can speak for as his autism prohibits him from being able to use a lot of language to tell everyone how he feels. So my main goal is to get the point across of how he feels," explained Kaylene Albuquerque.

She says that while it is a relief to be protected against the grandmother, it's hard because that's her son's grandmother.

"Tammy helped me raise him. She was a big part of his life. And for him to absolutely have no contact with her now is extremely hard for him. And I mean, some nights he does cry for her and some nights he cries for his grandfather, who is her boyfriend, whom he now can't see," shared Albuquerque. "It's a relief that she can't reach out anymore. But it's also very saddening. My heart breaks for my son. He is my pride and joy. And when he hurts, I hurt."

She explained to KRDO13 what that day was like when Eddings-Dion allegedly committed this crime.

"I had told my manager that I needed to leave because I believed that she was going to place nicotine patches on him, and this was something I was talking about to them, a worry of mine prior, for I want to say about three days. And I knew it was going to happen because she had sent me a message saying, 'Can't we use the nicotine patches for our own sanity to cure his autism, to fix him?' There's no fixing autism. That's something he's born with, something that can't be cured," recounted Albuquerque.

She said she found her son sick with nicotine poisoning and hurried to the hospital. Luckily, he is fully recovered now. Albuquerque says her son doesn't need to be "fixed" and that he's perfect and amazing the way he is.

"He's perfect. He's so sweet. He's like this little ball of energy. He is so kind and so caring, and he's just really happy all the time. He cares when other people get hurt. And so it breaks my heart that a child so empathetic and caring can have this happen to him, especially by someone he was supposed to trust, someone I could trust. And it turns out sometimes the people closest to you are the people you can't trust the most," said Kaylene Albuquerque.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Grandma arrested after allegedly attempting to cure 4-year-old’s autism with nicotine

KRDO13 asked Eddings-Dion to share her side of the story, and she said no.

Eddings-Dion will be back in court on August 27, at 9 a.m.