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Baby Apparently Starves After Mom's Suspected Overdose

Oberle

Oberle

Trusted Member
Goddammit, another baby starving and another f*cking horrible story. This time an accident, but a mom-drug-overdose kinda accident, so still her fault. Hinky that the brother went over to check "after not hearing from her for several days" when the cops say she "may have died a week or two earlier." What is it, several days or a week or two?? Hinkier that "mother died of natural causes in the same apartment in November." WTF is going on in that building??

A 10-month-old boy found dead in a Pittsburgh-area apartment is believed to have starved after his 22-year-old mother died of an apparent overdose, leaving no one to care for him, authorities said Friday.

The woman's brother found the two dead early Friday morning when he went to check on his sister after not hearing from her for several days, Assistant Allegheny County police Superintendent James Morton said.

Morton said the mother may have died a week or two earlier. She was found on her bed, with the child in the living room. He said there were no signs of foul play.

"It's a very sad situation in there," Morton told reporters outside the apartment in Millvale, just across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh. "It seems like he (the infant) tried to survive but there was no food or anything for him to have."

The woman's mother died of natural causes in the same apartment in November, Morton said, and no one else lived on the same floor of the apartment building.

Police suspect the woman died of a drug overdose but autopsies were pending.

They were withholding the identities while they tried to contact the baby's father.​

source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/police-woman-overdoses-baby-left-starves-days-29442505
 
OMG - the thought of that poor wee baby looking for food or attention or ANYTHING from his Momma. Heartbreaking.
 
No other apartments on that floor. So sad...no one heard his cries for help. Bless his heart and may they RIP.
 
When I read about this kind of stuff, people dying from drug overdoses at 20, even 30 or 35, I think about all the things I've done since that age, and how they are going to miss so much. It just blows my mind how people want to endanger their lives in that fashion. Sure, they probably think "it'll never happen to me," but it's depressing to think how they died over something so stupid and meaningless. Granted, I guess it's better they're out of the picture before their habit harms the life of another, but still sad they chose to risk their life in that fashion, and in this case, the life of a child.

Poor kid, RIP. Mom, burn in fucking Hell for not taking care of your baby.
 
*hands over face* omg omg This fear and pain this poor child went through. I can't even begin to process this one.
 
If anything comes out of this that's worth a dime maybe at least one person will think about what could happen while using drugs while you are responsible for a child's life. Most drug users never contemplate what would happen to their child(ren) if they die or even worse if they die like this woman.
 
You know I went to a doctor who had a complete list of EVERY ONE of my medications at that time- I was CLEAN & SOBER- He prescribed me a medication that was a toxic combination with my current medications & especially to someone my weight & size- I overdosed following DOCTORS DIRECTIONS.. NOT saying that happened..but have compassion
 
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Ask any recovering addict whose ever OD'ed. When they're using, and if they end up with an accidental overdose, they're chemically blunted and mentally unable to see past the chemical blinders for *any* reason. And, if they DO think about that cry they hear *in the distance*, or remember that their child(ren) is/are in the other room, they don't have the mentation to do anything about it. I used to tell my heroin withdrawal patients at the jail to *please* make sure they're not alone and there are no kids around each and every time they use.

You can't stop them, jail/prison is just a temporary lull, and psych doesn't usually help, so all you can do is help them remember to make better user choices in that situation - everything from hooking them up with birth control, to referrals to the methadone clinics, to free condoms at the Health Dept., and buying clean insulin and tb syringes in bulk and giving a couple to their friends to reuse *only* on themselves, don't share; split the cotton in two and each person draws their own dose through their own cotton ball without the tip of the needle sitting in the liquid in the spoon, pop cap, whatever, anything they can do for realistic infection control.

Depending on how much over their tolerance they took to OD (in the case of benzos, narcs, booze, any substance that requires a "bump"), by the time they get past the "Oh shit, now this is what I'm supposed to feel like" feeling/thoughts, it's already too late. Blood travels throughout the body at 3ft/sec., or 5 qts/min. Right after that nice, warm, floating on a cloud, "there, that's just right," thought/feeling, the respiratory distress, pulmonary edema (fluid foaming up in the lungs) and cardiac insufficiency has already started.

Depending on the drug, it can happen in a matter of a scant few minutes before complete shutdown occurs. In the case of Rx opiates with Tylenol overdose (as with Vicodin, Lortab, Percocet, etc.), Tylenol liver toxicity can take 3 full days before the persons liver is filled up with Tylenol and tanks. The opiate can, but won't necessarily always be what kills them, it's the amount of acetaminophen that did them in. Same with alcoholics who still get hangovers and wake up and pop a handful of "it won't hurt me" Tylenol. Two to three days later, they're dead b/c they didn't understand what was going on and didn't know that a single shot in the ER was all it would've taken to clear their liver of Tylenol (same with narcotic reversal).

So, depending on what she took, it could've taken as little as a few minutes to 4-6 hours or more for her lungs to finally fill up and drown her, or several hours, maybe even a couple of days for her to pass out and go into cardiopulmonary arrest. :( Gods this is sad, sad, sad... <3
 
gatekeeper said:
Ask any recovering addict whose ever OD'ed. When they're using, and if they end up with an accidental overdose, they're chemically blunted and mentally unable to see past the chemical blinders for *any* reason. And, if they DO think about that cry they hear *in the distance*, or remember that their child(ren) is/are in the other room, they don't have the mentation to do anything about it. I used to tell my heroin withdrawal patients at the jail to *please* make sure they're not alone and there are no kids around each and every time they use.

You can't stop them, jail/prison is just a temporary lull, and psych doesn't usually help, so all you can do is help them remember to make better user choices in that situation - everything from hooking them up with birth control, to referrals to the methadone clinics, to free condoms at the Health Dept., and buying clean insulin and tb syringes in bulk and giving a couple to their friends to reuse *only* on themselves, don't share; split the cotton in two and each person draws their own dose through their own cotton ball without the tip of the needle sitting in the liquid in the spoon, pop cap, whatever, anything they can do for realistic infection control.

Depending on how much over their tolerance they took to OD (in the case of benzos, narcs, booze, any substance that requires a "bump"), by the time they get past the "Oh shit, now this is what I'm supposed to feel like" feeling/thoughts, it's already too late. Blood travels throughout the body at 3ft/sec., or 5 qts/min. Right after that nice, warm, floating on a cloud, "there, that's just right," thought/feeling, the respiratory distress, pulmonary edema (fluid foaming up in the lungs) and cardiac insufficiency has already started.

Depending on the drug, it can happen in a matter of a scant few minutes before complete shutdown occurs. In the case of Rx opiates with Tylenol overdose (as with Vicodin, Lortab, Percocet, etc.), Tylenol liver toxicity can take 3 full days before the persons liver is filled up with Tylenol and tanks. The opiate can, but won't necessarily always be what kills them, it's the amount of acetaminophen that did them in. Same with alcoholics who still get hangovers and wake up and pop a handful of "it won't hurt me" Tylenol. Two to three days later, they're dead b/c they didn't understand what was going on and didn't know that a single shot in the ER was all it would've taken to clear their liver of Tylenol (same with narcotic reversal).

So, depending on what she took, it could've taken as little as a few minutes to 4-6 hours or more for her lungs to finally fill up and drown her, or several hours, maybe even a couple of days for her to pass out and go into cardiopulmonary arrest. :( Gods this is sad, sad, sad... <3
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A person like you saved my life.. you are a saint in the eyes that matter..
 
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Fives My Charm said:
A person like you saved my life.. you are a saint in the eyes that matter..
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What a kind thing to say. I'm very glad you met that person and you're here. No saint here, not by a long shot, *S*. It's just at the end of the day, IMO anyway, you have to set your priorities, and if wanting people to live is the priority, give them what tools you can to help them along the way until they're able to fight the good fight, and win. ;)
 
gatekeeper said:
What a kind thing to say. I'm very glad you met that person and you're here. No saint here, not by a long shot, *S*. It's just at the end of the day, IMO anyway, you have to set your priorities, and if wanting people to live is the priority, give them what tools you can to help them along the way until they're able to fight the good fight, and win. ;)
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My God has a SPECIAL place in Heaven for people like you.. some day people like me with hug your necks and cry in happiness at the life you gave us in the end.. As you have given to me I give to long term elderly and hospice- I have been so close to death- I can be calm, supportive, and reassuring in their times of need.. ALL BECAUSE OF ANGELS LIKE YOU..
 
Fives My Charm said:
My God has a SPECIAL place in Heaven for people like you.. some day people like me with hug your necks and cry in happiness at the life you gave us in the end.. As you have given to me I give to long term elderly and hospice- I have been so close to death- I can be calm, supportive, and reassuring in their times of need.. ALL BECAUSE OF ANGELS LIKE YOU..
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*all 10 up top on paying it forward to your patients b/c of your friend!!!*

Now...AWW!! :bigtears: <3 *blush*
 
Am I the only person that instantly thought of Trainspotting after reading this article?
 
rod2pop said:
people dying from drug overdoses at 20, even 30 or 35
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I was 32 when I suffered a near-fatal overdose. I was a hardcore opiate and barbiturate addict. The estimation of the number of pills I ingested in 36 hours was about 165, of that number 100 of them were Oxy 80's the rest were barbiturates. On Monday morning I coded twice, once in the ambulance outside my house the 2nd time at the hospital. The next day I regained consciousness and I have not touched another drug since.

I get pissed when I read about mothers being selfish addicts but the reality is that it is the nature of addiction and only by the grace of God that I didn't suffer the same fate as this mother. Sadly when it comes to addiction, realizing what you're missing out on and how bad your life is generally only comes in sobriety, this mother may have never gotten the chance to realize how bad things were.
 
Krystal said:
I was 32 when I suffered a near-fatal overdose. I was a hardcore opiate and barbiturate addict. The estimation of the number of pills I ingested in 36 hours was about 165, of that number 100 of them were Oxy 80's the rest were barbiturates. On Monday morning I coded twice, once in the ambulance outside my house the 2nd time at the hospital. The next day I regained consciousness and I have not touched another drug since.

I get pissed when I read about mothers being selfish addicts but the reality is that it is the nature of addiction and only by the grace of God that I didn't suffer the same fate as this mother. Sadly when it comes to addiction, realizing what you're missing out on and how bad your life is generally only comes in sobriety, this mother may have never gotten the chance to realize how bad things were.
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Holy crap! That's alot of pills.

I have a sister-in-law who seems to be on that same path from the same addiction. Right now she's in rehab, so we've yet to see how effective it is. She went thru a program once before, 20 years ago, with moderate success, but during the last two years has gone haywire and added booze to the pills. Because of it, her husband is now divorcing her and her kids can't see her.

I know many of us use the word, selfish, a lot when describing these types of tragedies, especially those involving children, and I realize it doesn't describe the full scope of the problem. The psychological complexities go far beyond a single word or single event, but for purposes of brevity, in a forum such as this, helps move the conversation along.

Oh, and BTW, I'm glad you're still with us. :) <3
 
rod2pop said:
Holy crap! That's alot of pills.
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I was 20 years in at that point, I was a professional. But in all seriousness I have no explanation for how or why I survived and others don't but I'm here so I talk about it, often. I figure that maybe that's why, maybe I'm supposed to tell people about it.

When I rant and rave about addicts so much of it comes from personal knowledge, of having had that mindset, of having walked down that path. And today raising my children with the knowledge of what I did to them with the shit they watched me do and say, of knowing the damage that I caused.

Tell your sister-in-law's husband to stay strong and stick to his convictions. The best thing he can do for their children is to protect them until she can get her life straight. I detoxed in the hospital, I didn't go to rehab so I have limited experience with that, other than I've met a bunch of people who have been in and out of them for years, which pisses me off because I couldn't get rehab covered by my health insurance but that's a different conversation. But his children seeing their mother like that can have devastating effects, a good example: My mother is a drug addict, pills my whole life, and I did a like mother like daughter thing. AS much as I hated my mother for what she did I still managed to follow in her footsteps for years.
 
Krystal said:
My mother is a drug addict, pills my whole life, and I did a like mother like daughter thing. AS much as I hated my mother for what she did I still managed to follow in her footsteps for years.
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@Krystal I spent my whole life saying I would NEVER turn out like my parents- well I pulled a you- well a them. However in the time I went to rehab my children were told how much I DIDN'T love them & DIDN'T want them- my youngest learn to call my mom - mommy. You will see me ALL the time say positive things about leaving my kids there for my FIRST rehab.. it was DEVASTATING for me and it still hurts when my youngest calls me by my first name but she doesn't have to get the neighbor when I've slipped into unconsciousness & need a ventilator like my middle child. :(:sorry:
 
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http://pix11.com/2015/03/07/cops-baby-apparently-starves-after-moms-suspected-overdose/
MILLVALE, Pa. (AP) — Investigators outside Pittsburgh have identified a young woman whose apparent death from a drug overdose is believed to have led to the starvation death of her infant son.

Authorities say the bodies of 22-year-old Sara Kessler and her 9-month-old son, Casey, were found Friday inside Kessler’s Millvale apartment.

Police say Kessler’s brother found the two dead when he went to check on them after not hearing from his sister for days
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And now the kicker...

Police say they believe the mother may have been dead for a week or more before Friday’s discovery. They say there was no evidence of foul play.

A neighbor says he heard the cries of a 9-month-old boy who authorities believe later starved after his mother died of an apparent overdose inside their Pittsburgh-area apartment
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Oberle said:
Someone heard the baby and did nothing? Ugh, how horrible to be that person.
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If neighbours knocked down doors every time a baby cried, new parents wouldn't be able to afford all the door replacements.

But in all seriousness, an infant weak with hunger isn't able to sustain crying long enough or loud enough to tip off the neighbours to its plight. If they hear any crying, it'll stop pretty quickly, making the neighbour think someone is comforting the child.

I do feel bad for this neighbour, now that they know what happened, but they shouldn't blame themselves or feel guilty.
 
Thank you for merging! I do forums search but nothing ever comes up! So far been lucky not to double create, this was not one of those times it seems
 
Azryhael said:
If neighbours knocked down doors every time a baby cried, new parents wouldn't be able to afford all the door replacements.

But in all seriousness, an infant weak with hunger isn't able to sustain crying long enough or loud enough to tip off the neighbours to its plight. If they hear any crying, it'll stop pretty quickly, making the neighbour think someone is comforting the child.

I do feel bad for this neighbour, now that they know what happened, but they shouldn't blame themselves or feel guilty.
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Agreed, it wasn't the neighbor's fault. How could he know? Might have just been a colicky baby. He does feel bad about it though. I guess that's human nature.

“If I was closer to the noise, I would have done something. I didn't know. I feel so guilty. I feel so bad,” said Gonzalez, whose apartment is around the corner and down the hall from the front door. “The thought of that little kid running around after she died ... looking for food. That's what I'm upset about. It's such a helpless feeling.”​

Source: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/7915049-74/baby-dead-morton#ixzz3TtW0mNrK
 
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