Mother and boyfriend charged after toddler drinks methadone

The young boy has to learn how to walk again.

A mother and boyfriend have been charged after their 19-month-old drank methadone, according to NBC Boston. The 19-month-old was hospitalised last July in Stoughton, Massachusetts. The boy spent a week and a half in the ICU at Boston Children's Hospital. He was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in August, where he will learn how to walk again. Derrick Richards-Lewis and Brianna Lavoie have both been charged with criminal liability to first-degree assault; reckless conduct; endangering the welfare of a child, and possession of controlled drug methamphetamine. Friends of the mother were caring for the infant when he became lethargic on a trip to Ikea, Stoughton. They were giving the mother a break when the child's condition worsened. They rushed the boy to the hospital when his breathing slowed. He tested positive for methadone at the hospital. It is believed the toddler consumed the methadone at an address in Manchester on July 26. The child's older brother explained to investigators that his younger brother drank the methadone from a cup that was on a dresser in his mother's bedroom. It is understood that both the mother and boyfriend are recovering drug addicts. They are given take-home dosages of methadone from a clinic on weekends. The mother told investigators that they witnessed the infant drink the methadone before friends took him to Ikea. She failed to tell them what he had consumed because he was acting normal. The mother admitted she didn't know what to do when he consumed the methadone. She didn't call 911 even though she knew the drug was "lethal". They decided to simply monitor the child because he didn't drink all 107 mg of the dose. The eldest child has been placed in the custody of his great-grandparents.