Ali Condon
A heartbroken mum fears her son will 'never be the same again' after he smoked a vape that turned out to be laced with fentanyl.
Lynda Amos, 45, was horrified when she discovered her son Zach Corona, 13, unresponsive in their living room on 1 January, after complaining of chest pains.
After quickly calling an ambulance and having her 'straight A' son rushed to hospital, she learned that Zach had suffered a stroke, and would have to be put on life support.
Advert
"The ambulance asked if he'd ingested anything and I said no, there's nothing in the house for him to ingest. I had no idea what was happening," recalled the mother-of-five.
Within minutes of arriving at Children's Hospital at Erlanger, Tennessee, Zach flatlined and had to be put on life support.
It wasn't until doctors had to cut off Zach's clothes that they found a vape pen hidden in his underwear.
Medics determined that the vape had been laced with marijuana and the deadly opioid fentanyl.
Two weeks later, when he finally woke up from his coma, Zach claimed he had been given the vape by a group of kids, who had 'bullied' him into smoking it and threatened to 'beat him up' if he didn't hide it for them.
"He told me that he's confused about why the kids have done this to him, because he said they were his friends," explained his mother.
"They'd been slapping him in the face and calling him names. He's seeing a psychiatrist now and a counsellor.
"The psychiatrist even said to him, 'you know they were never your friends to begin with. Your friends would never do anything to try and hurt you and kill you'."
After coming out of his coma, Zach was taken to Children's Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia for speech, physical, and occupational therapy, and is currently undergoing outpatient treatment.
Despite this positive development, doctors have already told Lynda that Zach will 'never be the same boy he was'.
The pre-teen now has damage to the right side of his brain, lost sight in his right eye, function of his left arm, and experiences seizures.
He's also had to re-learn how to do basic tasks like count, speak, and keep his balance
"It was a miracle that my son came back. He was dead. My son died," Lynda said.
"They messed my son up for life."
Lynda is now raising funds to cover Zach's medical bills, and advocating for parents to be more proactive when it comes to bullying.
"These parents need to be careful and listen to their kids. If they say they're being bullied, the parents need to do something about it," she urged.
"There isn't any telling how many other people those kids have done that to - and if they hurt another child, they might not come back like my son did."
You can donate to Lynda's GoFundMe here.
Tyla has contacted Whitfield County Sheriff's Office for comment.