A four-year-old child died Friday during a routine dental procedure that included a shot of the anesthesia drug Ketamine, according to the deceased’s mother. Mykel Wayne Peterson attended a Vancouver clinic called Must Love Kids. The little boy was on the autism spectrum and he reportedly had problems keeping his mouth open, explained his mother in an interview with KGW8.
Must Love Kids specializes in children like Mykel, with developmental issues, and they use a board-certified anesthesiologist. Because Mykel would not stay still, he was given a shot of Ketamine by the licensed anesthesiologist, so the dentist could see if he needed a crown or a filling. Curry told KGW8 that the anesthesiologist said Mykel was given an extra dose to make sure he did not wake during the dental procedure. “He would not keep his mouth open so they can actually see what’s going on,” explained Thmeka Curry, Mykel’s mother.
“The dentist was telling me everything she did with his teeth, and she was going to check to see if he was awake yet. The anesthesiologist started to check his pulse and was shaking him and at this point I am still not aware anything happened to my son,” Curry explained.
Specialists started administering CPR, and paramedics were called to the office. Mykel was transferred to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. A medical examiner is currently investigating Mykel’s cause of death, and a toxicology report was conducted to help determine the cause, although it will not be available for another eight weeks.
Must Love Kids’ statement
Must Love Kids released a statement saying that “it would be premature to comment on the specifics of the case, but that the office has performed dentistry for pediatric patients under deep sedation and general anesthesia more than 1,900 times over the last three years,” as reported by Fox News.
They stretched in the fact that they use board-certified anesthesiologists to sedate children who go there for work, and that there are times when the use of general anesthesia is necessary to provide quality dental care for children. Thmeka Curry said that right now she just needs to know exactly what happened or went wrong so that she can have closure for her son.
She set up a GoFundMe page to raise $5,000 to cover Mykel’s funeral, and the page currently has raised $5086, with over 154 people donating to help ease the burden for Curry and her family. The page says that Mykel was a happy, loving energetic boy who was just about to turn 5 years old and that he had a fervent and sincere love for his family. It also says that he will be forever loved and missed for the way he selflessly loved his family and for the memories he left.
Source: Fox News