A Bay Area family said their baby playing in a San Francisco public park was hospitalized after somehow being exposed to fentanyl.
Ivan and Kerina Matkovic said 10-month-old Senna and his twin brother Antun usually like to look at things up close.
According to the family, Senna was playing at San Francisco’s Moscone Park Tuesday afternoon, when his nanny noticed he was starting to lose consciousness.
“So, I shake him and I’m like ‘something’s wrong.' I saw his face and he was like dizzy. I thought he was not breathing," said Wendy Marroqui, the family’s nanny.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Marroqui then applied crucial CPR and called 911.
Senna’s father, Ivan Matkovic, rushed from work to see paramedics at work.
“All you know is your kid is not breathing, right? And you see them helping him breathe,” he said.
U.S. & World
Ivan Matkovic said that he was stunned to see a paramedic administer Narcan, a treatment for drug overdoses. He said the exposure to drugs wasn’t even on his mind and was grateful the paramedic recognized the symptoms even in a toddler.
“You know those first responders just saved my son’s life. We’re just so lucky that we got the guy we got," he said.
Senna went to the emergency room, where the parents were told the opioid involved was fentanyl.
By the time Senna was treated at the hospital, relatives said that he was back to his usual self.
The Matkovic family said they hope police find out how it happened and want to pass on a lesson learned as they count their blessings.
“We came out of it with a positive story, and we can tell other people to be aware that this is a risk,” Ivan Matkovic said.
The family said the police told them fentanyl is a fine, colored powder to give parents something to watch out for.
But police emphasized they are used to dealing with fentanyl on the streets and not at a family park.
