Vancouver Island family issues warning after toddler overdoses on morphine

London Drugs is apologizing for a human error that resulted in a three-year-old on Vancouver Island taking five times the amount of morphinehe was prescribed.

His family is also now advocating for others to be vigilant with prescriptions.

Charlie Cherrierewas prescribed morphine to deal with pain after tonsil surgery in May.

His mom Kate said her son also had his adenoids glands located in the roof of the mouth removed and tubes put in his ears at the same time.The family was told by medical staffthat it was routine to prescribe morphine for his discomfort.

'Head flopped right back'

His parents filled the prescription at London Drugs at Victoria's TillicumMall, and were given the medication withoutconsultation with a pharmacist.

"We thought it was odd, we talked about it that night that it was strange to get given a bag of narcotics for a toddler and nobody talked to us about it," saidKate.

The family, which lives in ShawniganLake, a 50-minute drive from Victoria,readthe instructions and administered the medication, but the next morning noticed some strange symptoms in Charlie.

"My husband picked him up and his head flopped right back. It's something you'll never get out of your head," said Kate about her son who wasunresponsive and not breathing properly.

They then got Charlie to Victoria General Hospital where doctors confirmed that the toddler was suffering from an opioidoverdose.

He was stabilized with naloxone and has recovered.

The Cherrieressaid doctors discovered that the morphine prescription on the bottle was wrong and five times the dosage intended.

'Makes our hearts stop'

London Drugs says human error caused the incorrect dose.

"Something like this makes our hearts stop. We've definitely taken a learning. We are moving forward so this doesn't happen again," said London Drugs pharmacy general manager Chris Chiew.

The company has apologized to the family and says it will pay for the Cherriere'smedical costs.

The family says the B.C.'s College of Pharmacists also conducted an investigation into the incident.

With files from CHEK News.