Denard Bishop and Alexis Scarborough, parents of 4 year old Ohio boy charged after son overdoses on fentanyl on his birthday amid the ongoing fentanyl epidemic gripping the U.S.
The parents of a four year old boy who overdosed on fentanyl on his birthday have been arrested.
Charged with child endangerment was the boy’s father, Denard Bishop, 39, along with the boy’s mother, Alexis Scarborough, 34.
Notice of the overdosing, came after the child was observed experiencing ‘agonal breathing’ during a nap at his father’s home in Golf Manor, on the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 25. The boy was rushed to the Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center immediately and thankfully survived.
Agonal breathing and near death
WebMD defines agonal breathing when someone who is not getting enough oxygen is gasping for air. It is usually due to cardiac arrest or stroke. It’s not true breathing. It’s a natural reflex that happens when your brain is not getting the oxygen it needs to survive. Agonal breathing is a sign that a person is near death.
FOX19 reported the boy’s father remaining at large before his arrest on Thursday. The boy’s mom was taken into custody immediately after the episode.
WLWT reported the incident happened as the boy’s mom was visiting her son, of whom she does not have custody:
During a Wednesday hearing, the mother pleaded not guilty to the charge of child endangerment. The presiding judge rejected a request from her lawyers for her to be released so she could keep her job as a hotel housekeeper.
Dysfuntional parenting
Bail for Alexis Scarborough was set at $10K, with the mom instructed not to have any interactions with her children unless expressly given permission.
The boy’s father appeared in court on the same charges on Thursday, with bail set at $7500.
Court documents stated the father in a previous November case, ‘did neglect to show a duty of care and safety’ for the boy.
Scarborough’s children are currently in the care of Hamilton County Job & Family Services, according to her attorneys.
Co-Chair Chief of Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition Tom Synan stated to WHSV: ‘Fortunately, hopefully, this child will be okay. Luckily, they got medical attention. It is something that in some cases you can reverse.
‘And hopefully, there’s no further impact and the child and everyone in this incident learns from it and is able to take those safeguards and get the help and the resources they need so that they’re not using drugs anymore.’
Unrelenting fentanyl epidemic
The Ohio Department of Health states that Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid approved for pain relief and anesthetic, as a powerful drug 50 times stronger than heroin, and the leading cause of most unintended drug overdose deaths. It reported 4,915 such deaths in 2022, with 81% involving Fentanyl, often mixed with other substances.
Ohio Department of Health director Bruce Vanderhoff said, ‘While the numbers headed in the right direction last year, they are no cause for celebration. Tragically, thousands of Ohioans are still dying from substance use disorders. I urge Ohioans to do what they can to prevent these deaths, from learning how to use naloxone to knowing where to turn for help for you or a loved one in need.’
Soberingly, nearly 70,000 people in the US died of drug overdoses that involved fentanyl in 2021, almost a four-fold increase over five years. By 2021, about two-thirds of all overdose deaths involved the potent synthetic opioid, according to the CDC. Multiple drugs can be reported on one death certificate, and fentanyl is often found along with others, the CDC stated.
