KCUR: This Johnson County mom is making sure no one else has to 'whisper' about fentanyl
By Noah Taborda
Griffin Tomassi was gasping for air when his younger brother found him in the middle of the night on Jan. 12, 2022. Griffin was born with a heart defect, so his family assumed he was suffering from some sort of cardiac emergency.
Griffin’s mother, Heidi Tomassi, remembers watching his staggered breathing while waiting for the paramedics. They did not know he was exhibiting what’s known as the death breath or death rattle, a common symptom of overdoses.
When paramedics arrived, Heidi heard a new word over and over again: Naloxone.
“We later learned that was an opioid antagonist that reverses the effect of opioids,” she says. “And so we knew that we were in for a long road ahead of us.”
Griffin survived his overdose, but recovery has not been an easy process. He’s spent a long time in and out of rehab. It shook his family and opened up a world of questions.
Dr. Michelle DePhillips, a pediatric emergency medicine physician with Children’s Mercy Hospital, says staffers there are seeing more kids who’ve been using opioids for so long they’re suffering from withdrawal symptoms. That’s new, and something they weren’t as prepared for.
“Our resources always lack that of adults. I think they've been seeing this in the adult world for longer than we have,” DePhillips says. “Having the appropriate outpatient resources and therapy for young kids who are experiencing these issues is hard to find.”
DePhillips specified that these services are more available for children over 16, but there are a limited number of providers who will treat those 12 to 16.
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