Mother says son's eye was glued shut by doctor's receptionist

QUEBEC, Canada (KTRK) -- A mother of a 3-year-old boy wants answers after her son's eye was accidentally glued shut by the receptionist of a medical facility.

Julia Vavatsikos tells CBC News she took her son to the doctor's office when he got a minor cut on his eyelid from the family cat. There was only one doctor on duty who told the mother he could seal the cut with medical glue.

The doctor called in a co-worker to help with the procedure. Vavatsikos says the doctor held her son's eye while the co-worker applied the glue.

"My son was yelling, 'Mommy, mommy,'" Vavatsikos said as she realized his eye had been glued shut. "He couldn't open his eye and also the doctor looked like he was panicking. He was trying to open my son's eye with water and his fingers, he was even swearing at that point. I've never met any doctors that swear. At that point, I knew something was really wrong."

The mother then found out the co-worker wasn't a doctor, a nurse or even a medical student. CBC News confirmed that co-worker was just the clinic's part-time receptionist and had no medical training.

"I got emotional, I got scared. I was angry. I had many many different feelings. I didn't know what to do," Vavatsikos said. "He might as well asked me to put glue on my son's eye."

The doctor then told Vavatsikos she probably should take her son to an emergency room. She did.

"The first nurse couldn't believe it. She said first of all, they try to avoid using glue because things like this could happen especially on places like an eye. But if they have to do it, the nurses aren't allowed. It has to be a doctor or a specialist. At that point I was even more frustrated," Vavatsikos said.

Vavatsikos filed a complaint and decided to share her story so it doesn't happen to other parents. There is also a formal investigation underway into the medical clinic, but no decision has been made.

Vavatsikos did say the clinic ultimately refunded the $150 medical bill.