Fentanyl poisoning has skyrocketed among teens and children

It’s been almost two years since Kelly Hintemeyer buried her son Zachary.

“I keep thinking that he is sleeping at a friend’s house, that he will come home any day,” Hintemeyer said.

The baby of the family, she said, the 15-year-old girl was goofy and loved bear hugs. He was supposed to start the spring football season at Bell High School in Bedford the morning everything went wrong.

“I set the alarm for 5:45 that morning because he was supposed to be at football practice at 6:15. I went back there to wake him up and he was blue, his lips were blue and he had vomit in his mouth,” she said. “I started doing CPR on him. My eldest son called 911.”

Hintemeyer later learned that Zach and a friend shared what they thought was a Percocet pill the night before.

An autopsy later revealed that he had been laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. CDC Claims It’s 50 Times Stronger Than Heroin.

Like Zach, many are unaware that they are taking it, leading to accidental poisonings.

“It’s just mind-boggling and the kids are getting younger and younger and younger,” she said.

In a recently published analysis of data from the CDC, the advocacy group Families Against Fentanyl reported that fentanyl deaths among children aged 14 and under were rising faster than any other group.

In just two years, the number of deaths has tripled for children aged one to four and quadrupled for infants and children aged five to 14.

As she prepares for the second anniversary of her son’s death, Hintemeyer said the grief continues.

“He should finish high school. He has to go to his football banquet this weekend. He has to go to prom in a couple of months,” Hintemeyer said.

Like other parents, she now advocates for drug awareness. The DEA says this is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced. and it can be fatal at a dose as low as 2 milligrams.

Like many other parents, Hintemeyer claims that Zach was poisoned by a drug he did not intentionally take.

“If you don’t get it from a doctor, don’t take it. Everything is simple and clear,” she said.