Parents who lost their son to fentanyl poisoning share their story
Deric and Kathy Kidd speak out after their son died from fentanyl poisoning on 'The Story with Martha MacCallum.'
Nearly a year after their son died of accidental fentanyl poisoning, an Iowa family has made it their mission to educate parents about the dangers of the deadly drug with the hopes of saving others from suffering the same fate.
Deric and Kathy Kidd lost their 17-year-old son Sebastian on July 30, 2021 after he ingested half of a pill he thought to be Percocet. Kathy told Fox News that while her son suffered from "normal teen stresses," he was in no way depressed or suicidal.
"He had just normal teen stresses," she said Tuesday during an interview on "The Story." "Sports, friends, school. All of that, just like all kids. He didn’t intend to kill himself," she said. "[He thought] You don’t die from half of a Percocet."
GONE TOO SOON: FENTANYL FLOWING FROM CHINA
TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Border Patrol agents working the Interstate 19 Immigration Checkpoint near Amado, Arizona, seized over 50 pounds of suspected fentanyl and arrested the driver of the vehicle on Oct. 13, 2021. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
As the one-year anniversary of Sebastian's death approaches, the couple said they are hoping to honor his legacy by speaking out about the dangers associated with the synthetic opioid and encouraging parents to have difficult conversations with their children about drug use.
"It’s a tough conversation to have," Kathy said. "You want to keep things light with your kids… you want a fun conversation, a good conversation. But you got to have this one. You have to talk about these pills and other forms that unfortunately they’re now taking other than just pills.
"We took the first few months trying to understand what happened, trying to cope with things," Deric added. "We since have tried to turn this into something positive in trying to save others."
Officials walk past images of illegal drugs outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, May 13, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
The Kidd family has reportedly been in contact with Sen. Chuck Grassley, who proposed a bill to help curb the troubling rate of fentanyl overdoses in the U.S. But the grieving parents said they're "a bit frustrated with how long it's taking to take action.
"I have been in contact with hundreds of families across the nation. The groups that I’m a part of are thousand strong. There’s more being added every day," Deric said.
"It’s disgusting how many people are dying, and we need to do something now."
Border Patrol agents seized 1,100 pounds of fentanyl in May, which is believed to be enough to kill roughly 200 million Americans. Some parents are casting blame on the Biden administration's border policies that have allegedly allowed a record number of dangerous drugs to cross into the country.
Deric said that while he applauds congressional efforts to implement treatment and other resources for drug users, "we need to educate the public and try to stop some of this before it even happens."
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"A lot of these cases, once it happens, it’s too late," he told Fox News, adding "the treatment won’t help those kids."
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