Veteran's foot found use syringe at Hampton Inn?

Veteran claims he stepped on syringe at Jacksonville Beach hotel

New4Jax
By Elizabeth Campbell - Reporter
June 21, 2019

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. - A military veteran said his recent visit to Jacksonville Beach ended with a trip to the hospital after he stepped on a needle from a used syringe under his hotel bed.

James Ryals, who was visiting from Colorado, said it happened shortly after he checked into his hotel room Monday night at the Hampton Inn in Jacksonville Beach.

"My foot went under the edge of the bed skirt and I felt something prick my toe," James Ryals said.

He said he found a second syringe, which was empty, under the bed, but he said the one he stepped on was not.

"The one that was in my foot had about half of a “CC” of some kind of substance," Ryals said. "It was a turquoise-ish color."

So what was supposed to be a vacation for Ryals' family instead turned into a visit to the emergency room and a pile of medical bills.

"The emergency room visit itself was a little over $5000 and then the two prescriptions, which still have not been filled, are to prevent AIDS and one of them is $2000 and one is almost $2,500," he said.

He said the doctor’s biggest concern was diseases like AIDS, HIV and Hepatitis.
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