Toddler Ingests Methadone Mother Left Unsecured, Recovering In Hospital

A Florida woman was jailed after her two-year-old child ingested methadone which the baby found at their Arthur Avenue home in Cape Canaveral. According to reports Monday, Jacquelyn Donnelly, 28, was taken into custody after police were informed about the incident.

The toddler had allegedly got its hands on the drug, which is an opioid used to treat pain and heroin addiction. The child was found having breathing difficulty when authorities arrived at the scene of the incident. The baby was transported to a local hospital by medical personnel.

Toxicology reports of the child confirmed that the baby had consumed methadone due to which it was facing trouble breathing.

"We've encountered kids who've ingested meds before. We see cases of this from time to time," Tod Goodyear, Brevard County Sheriff's Office spokesman told local media. "Children will get in and find a pill or some kind of drug that's not been put up correctly."

“In this case, we were lucky the child was able to be revived, and was actually given Narcan at the hospital from my understanding, and will be OK,” Goodyear added.

According to police personnel investigating the incident, Donnelly failed to properly supervise her child and secure the methadone. It remains unclear how much drug the child had consumed.

Doctors at the hospital treated the child and said the baby was recovering as of Monday afternoon.

The mother was held at the Brevard County Jail Complex on a $25,000 bail bond. She was charged with felony child neglect without great bodily harm.

According to WebMD, the use of methadone can have side-effects including restlessness, nausea or vomiting, slow breathing, itchy skin, heavy sweating and constipation. Sometimes side effects can be more serious and it is recommended to call a doctor immediately.

In January, a Michigan couple was charged after their 18-month-old daughter died when she mistakenly ingested fentanyl on Christmas Day. Ava Floyd had "an extraordinary level" of fentanyl in her system, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said at the time. Fentanyl is responsible for more than half of the opioid overdose deaths in the country in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The nation is experiencing an opioid epidemic,” Smith said in a news release. “However, to see an infant experience such a tragic death on Christmas morning as a result of ingesting a large quantity of her parents’ fentanyl is truly gut-wrenching."