Indiana toddler dies after ingesting pill used to treat opioid addiction she found in thrift store backpack: grandmother

An 18-month-old Indiana toddler tragically died days after ingesting a pill used to treat opioid addiction that she found in a thrift store backpack, according to family and officials.

Azana Trentman became unresponsive and was rushed to the hospital after falling ill on Sept. 4, KFVS12 reported Friday, citing the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office.

The child died on Sept. 8, the agency added.

Parents Austen Trentman and Shayna Wood took little Azana to a Dillsboro thrift store, where she began playing with a backpack while they browsed, according to a Sept. 7 Facebook post from her grandmother, Tawnya Wood.

“At some point, Azana found something in the backpack and ingested it. Austen took immediate action to clear her mouth and induced vomiting since he wasn’t sure what it was,” Wood wrote.

“He tasted the substance, and it tasted sweet, and it had a melted candy consistency.”

The tot seemed fine afterward so they continued running errands — but once they returned home, “their world turned upside down,” Wood wrote.

“After many days of testing, yesterday we finally got results that are devastating. The toxicology report indicated the substance was a fruit-flavored dissolvable suboxone pill,” the grieving grandmother wrote.

Suboxone is one of the primary medications used to treat opioid addiction, according to Harvard Medical School.

She was stabilized and transported to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, she said.

Though little Azana did not survive, she will live on to help others as her parents decided to donate her organs to three recipients, Wood wrote in a subsequent Facebook post.

“She brought immense joy and love into our lives, and her memory will forever remain in our hearts,” she said.

“Azana’s donation not only will save and improve the lives of 3 recipients, but will also be a way for Azana to live on through them.”

A GoFundMe page set up when the toddler was hospitalized surpassed its $10,000 goal, hitting more than $19,000 by Friday night.

A fundraiser for the family will be held Sept. 14 at the couple’s favorite local thrift store, which is different from the one where Trentman ingested the pill, Wood said in another social media post.

The Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office said the toddler’s cause of death is still under investigation as they await results from the autopsy, according to KFVS12.

The thrift store could not be immediately identified, but Wood blasted the retailer’s “negligence.”

“We are heartbroken that Azana is suffering due to someone’s negligence in leaving such a dangerous item in a donated backpack,” she wrote in her Sept. 7 post.

“We are also troubled by the thrift store’s apparent failure to thoroughly inspect donated items before they are placed for sale.”