Background: A section of North 4th Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Google Maps). Inset: Andrea Flex (Hennepin County Sheriff”s Office).
In a troubling incident over the weekend, a Minneapolis grandmother was taken into custody after her twin grandchildren, both aged two, accessed and ingested medication from her purse. This unfortunate event has led to charges of child neglect or endangerment against Andrea Flex, aged 56, as per the records from Hennepin County Jail.
The sequence of events began on a seemingly ordinary Sunday at a residence on North 4th Avenue in Minneapolis. Flex was babysitting the twins when disaster struck. One of the girls began experiencing breathing difficulties and failed to wake from her nap, prompting an urgent call to the police. Upon arrival, officers found the child unconscious, necessitating immediate hospitalization.
Rushed to intensive care, the girl’s condition was critical. Details provided by the local ABC affiliate, KSTP, reveal that within a short span of two hours, authorities were summoned once again to the same address. This time, the other twin was in distress, displaying labored breathing and “pinpoint” pupils, symptoms indicative of an opioid overdose.
Emergency responders, acting swiftly, administered Narcan, the commercial name for Naloxone. This critical intervention, designed to counteract opioid overdoses, is credited with stabilizing the child and averting a potentially tragic outcome.
The substance involved, methadone, is commonly used as a treatment aid for individuals seeking to reduce or cease opioid dependency, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The presence of this medication in the children’s system underscores the gravity of the situation and the charges faced by their caretaker.
Law enforcement officers tried to uncover what happened to the children, and their investigation focused on Flex. According to local NBC affiliate KARE, officers found methadone in Flex’s purse, and the kids also tested positive for the medication.
Methadone is a medication used to help people reduce or quit opioid use, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The second twin to be brought to the hospital is expected to survive, while the first child’s status “remains grim,” KSTP reported. Flex was released from the Hennepin County Jail on Tuesday.
