My family welcomed the arrival of a new baby a couple of days after Christmas. As Alex was passed from one to another, I watched the care and love on each face, the gentleness in the way they held him, the easy smiles that lit up eyes and uplifted hearts. It is so natural to trust, to allow ourselves to be vulnerable to a young child.

Parents still hold their new babies and dream dreams for them, to make the children’s lives special, better than what they had when they were children. We all want wonderful things for the tiny babies we snuggle against us so protectively.

It is good to dream. But reality – real life with all its issues – has a way of entering into our lives, throwing those wrenches into the works, changing everything in just a brief moment. Still, we do the best we can to navigate the challenges, make our ways over, around or through obstacles. Sometimes the going is so difficult we cannot see how to proceed. And sometimes the worst kinds of things happen.

As we have welcomed Alex into our family, I have been reading the headlines, saddened because, well, read for yourself:

Fentanyl deaths among children more than tripled in just two years (americansecuritytoday.com.) This article cites, “The Changing Faces of Fentanyl Deaths” which advises that “synthetic opioid (fentanyl) deaths among children 14-years-old and younger, are increasing faster than any other age group in the United States, and more than tripled in just two years.”

Politics aside, do you know where it is coming from? A DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) intelligence report can be found at www.dea.gov: “Fentanyl flow to the United States.” The well-being of American children is being compromised. Children are dying due to exposure to fentanyl.

“Fentanyl deaths among infants [emphasis mine] increased twice as fast as overall U.S. fentanyl deaths in the two years 2019 to 2021 (the latest year for which CDC data is available.)”

“Deaths among infants to 1-year-olds quadrupled, deaths among 1- to 4-year-olds more than tripled, and deaths among 5- to 14-year-olds nearly quadrupled,” the American Security Today article reports.

“Since 2015, synthetic opioid (fentanyl) deaths among infants increased nearly 10-fold and 15-fold among children ages 1 to 14, an increase of more than 1,400 percent … Nearly all U.S. fentanyl deaths are unintentional poisonings.”

Thinking about my tiny, newborn, great-grandchild snuggling against me for only a moment before he pushed to be held so he could look at me, see who was loving him, talking to him … such a precious moment between us … a fragile life that will grow stronger over time as he grows through life’s experiences coming thick and fast, but guided by people who love and care about him, to become the man he is destined to be … How heartbreaking for families who are deprived of this.

Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine. A DEA fact sheet says, “Drug dealers have been mixing fentanyl with other drugs including heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, increasing the likelihood of a fatal interaction.” Illicit fentanyl is not the same quality as legitimate fentanyl that is used under supervision to treat severe pain or severe pain after surgery. (www.dea.gov/facts-about-fentanyl).

The DEA reports that “Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.

Jim Rauh of Akron, not so far away, founded Families Against Fentanyl following the death of his adult son who did not know he was injecting fentanyl into his body. Working with the U.S. Department of Justice, Rauh learned that the drug that took his son’s life came from China. For more information about Families Against Fentanyl, visit www.familiesagainstfentanyl.org. You can also find the report, “The Changing Faces of Fentanyl Deaths,” at the website.

For more information about Family Recovery Center’s programs and services for substance abuse and related behavioral issues, contact the agency at 964 N. Market St., Lisbon; phone, 330-424-1468; or email info@familyrecovery.org. Visit the website at familyrecovery.org. You can find Family Recovery Center at Facebook. FRC is funded in part by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.