A 3-year-old’s accidental opiate overdose has family warning the public

A 3-year-old’s accidental opiate overdose has family warning the public

 

 

WATCH: A family from Shawnigan Lake is speaking out after their toddler was accidentally given a fatal dose of morphine. All because the pharmacist printed the wrong dosage – five times what the doctor ordered. As Kori Sidaway tells us, the family is hoping that this never happens again. 

Charlie Cherriere is three, but he’s lucky to be.

“My husband picked him up and his head flopped right back. It’s something you’ll never get out of your head,” said Charlie’s mom Kate.

Charlie had tonsil surgery this past May, and was prescribed morphine for his pain over the next 48 hours.

But when the family got to the London Drugs at Tillicum Mall, it was overly busy and the family was given the prescription without a consultation.

“We thought it was odd, we talked about it that night that it was strange to get given a bag of narcotics for a toddler and nobody talked to us about it. But we’re capable people and read through all the instructions and administered like the bottle said,” said Kate.

What happened the next morning, was something the family couldn’t even imagine in their worst nightmares.

Kate and her husband Cory found Charlie unresponsive and breathing strangely the next morning.

“Initially we maybe thought he had an allergy to morphine and that he was having a reaction, but I never thought he was overdosing,” said Kate.

“I have Narcan in the house just because I’ve done training through work for it. I would have never thought to grab it and give it to my three-year-old,” said Kate.

He was rushed to Victoria General Hospital where doctors realized Charlie was in fact in the midst of an opiate overdose.

He was administered Narcan and his condition stabilized, but doctors said that had his parents not caught this in the early stages, it could have been fatal.

“I asked if I had made an error and they checked, and no, I gave him exactly what I was supposed to,” said Kate

And she had, according to what was on the bottle, but it was not at all what the doctor had ordered.

In fact, the dosage printed by the pharmacists was five times what the doctor had suggested. Since then, London Drugs has admitted they are at fault for the incorrect dose, citing human error.

“Something like this makes our hearts stop. We’ve definitely taken a learning. We are moving forward so this doesn’t happen again,” said London Drug’s pharmacy general manager Chris Chiew.

In addition to an internal review of their processes and retraining, London Drugs has apologized to the family and intends to pay for the family’s medical expenses.

B.C.’s College of Pharmacists also conducted an investigation, the results of which are anticipated soon.

And while Charlie has since recovered, the Cherriere family will be checking, and double checking each prescription from now on and suggests other families do the same.

 

4 Responses

  1. I gotta go with the doubters here. Give a toddler morphine after tonsillectomy when people are being given only advil or tylenol after C-sections & hip replacements? This is as belieavable as the person who was ‘forced’ into opioids in another news story.

    These oh-so-concerned parents didn’t talk to the doc about the scrip, read the scrip before handing it over, or insist on talking to the pharmacist?? Sounds like more propaganda, or –at best– like these people were so keen on getting their 15 minutes that they were willing to use lies about their child to get it.

  2. My oldest son had his tonsils out back in 1991. He wasn’t sent home with any narcotic medication.
    If the family was so concerned why didn’t they make the pharmacist go over the medication before they paid for it? The pharmacist has to if you demand a counseling session. Now they have to give you one when picking up a narcotic/opioid.
    This story just doesn’t sound right. I need more information to believe if it is truth.

  3. When my 2-1/2 year old got tubes in his ears along with having his adenoids removed at the same time, we were advised to give him Tylenol. This was in 1990. He only needed one dose after we got home, and that’s when he looked up from playing and said “owee.” So yeah, why morphine at all?

  4. WHAT?? I find this entire story hard to believe, Sorry with all the BS being spread around I would have to see legal documentation from a court etc. before I woudl believe this. 1st I have never heard of a doctor giving Morphine to a toddler after tonsil surgery, then how could the Pharmacist come up with the incorrect dosage by 5X what doctor prescribed.
    Story sounds Fishy to me, because of all the BS CDC and MSM has filled everyone’s head with.

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