BOSTON (AP) – A mother whose 13-year-old daughter nearly died from an infection caused by a bellybutton piercing was sentenced Thursday to 2 years in prison for endangering the teenager’s life by failing to seek medical attention as the child grew sicker.

Deborah Robinson’s daughter and son wrote to the judge seeking leniency for her mother, who was convicted earlier this month of wantonly or recklessly permitting substantial bodily injury to a child under 14. The felony carried a maximum prison sentence of five years.

“My mom is not in the least a criminal,” wrote the daughter, who is not being identified by The Associated Press to protect her privacy. “I know a wrong, mistake and lack of responsibility when I see it and acknowledge what mother’s ‘slip’ could of done to me, but I wouldn’t reward it with criminal charges.”

Prosecutors said Robinson watched for several weeks as her daughter dropped from 115 pounds to 75 pounds and became incontinent and weak from an infection that began after she reinserted a belly ring she had removed months earlier. When EMTs arrived at the family’s Boston apartment on Aug. 3, 2005, the girl was emaciated, wearing an adult diaper and couldn’t get off the couch.

The teenager suffered extensive organ damage from the infection that ravaged her body. She has since made a full recovery and testified in her mother’s defense, saying Robinson urged her to eat, gave her orange juice and adjusted the temperature in the apartment to make her comfortable.

During her trial, defense lawyer Janet Macnab said she was a struggling single mother of two who didn’t realize how sick her daughter was.

Judge Ralph Gants suspended one year of the sentence, and Robinson has already served more than 14 months in jail. Macnab said she already should be eligible for parole.

Robinson also was sentenced to four years of probation, which Gants noted was the amount of time until her daughter turns 18. Gants also gave Robinson three conditions of probation: complying with all directives of the juvenile court in regard to the custody of her two children, not taking a job where she has unsupervised responsibility for children under 18 and trying to complete a CPR and first aid course.

Gants said he tried to balance the need to punish Robinson with his belief that she was not trying to harm her child in any way. “Ms. Robinson does very much love her daughter and in matters other than medical has been quite protective of her,” Gants said.

Robinson declined to address the judge before she was sentenced and showed no emotion when Gants issued the decision.