Sheena Wood, inset via the Franklin County Regional Jail, was arrested after her son was so malnourished he developed Refeeding Syndrome, which can occur in malnourished patients, cops say. The alleged incident happened at a home in Frankfort, Kentucky. Hospital officials called police after the disabled boy was near death. (House photo: LEX)

Police in Kentucky arrested a mom who they say nearly starved her “physically helpless” son to death.

Sheena Wood, 39, faces charges of first-degree assault, first-degree criminal abuse and endangering the welfare of a minor.

A social worker at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville contacted the Frankfort Police Department on Jan. 17 after one of their patients, a disabled boy, was in near fatal condition. The boy had been admitted on Jan. 11 for a bedsore but as doctors treated him they realized he was suffering from malnutrition and may have developed refeeding syndrome. According to the National Institutes of Health, the syndrome is defined as “potentially fatal shifts in fluids and electrolytes that may occur in malnourished patients receiving artificial refeeding.” It can occur in patients who have “negligible food intake” for more than five days, the NIH says.

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