AKRON – Ohio’s drug overdose crisis impacts families from all backgrounds, as two recent stories illustrate vividly.
In Akron, police say a one-year-old boy had to be revived with Narcan after he overdosed on opioids, the youngest opiate overdose recorded in the city, according to police.
The incident occurred hours after Ohio’s lieutenant governor revealed in an interview that her two sons have struggled with opioid addiction.
The Akron child’s nine-year-old brother called 911 Thursday evening after he noticed the infant had stopped breathing, police Lt. Rick Edwards said.
Paramedics arrived at their home in Akron and gave the child a dose of Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. The child was taken to a hospital and given another dose of Narcan and Edwards says he was able to breathe on his own a short time later.
The baby’s mother fled when officers arrived and authorities are still searching for her, Edwards said.
Both children have been taken into the custody of Summit County Children Services.
Republican Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, a likely candidate for governor next year, told the Dayton Daily News that Ohio’s second family has been at times in crisis over the past five years. She described failed drug rehab programs, two overdoses at the family’s home and urgent calls for ambulances.
Taylor told the newspaper that 26-year-old Joe and 23-year-old Michael are doing well, though one son remains in drug treatment.
Her state office declined further interviews. In a statement, her spokesman said Taylor shared her family’s story in hopes of helping others but she fears further exposure is not in her sons’ best interests.
Republican Gov. John Kasich released a statement indicating he’s known about Taylor’s situation for some time.