海角破解版

Michele Rout is an assistant law director in the city of Chillicothe, one of the places in Ohio hardest hit by the opioid epidemic.

But her experience with the human toll of the crisis goes beyond the courtroom.

Rout and her husband are raising two grandchildren who were exposed to opioids before birth and experienced symptoms of withdrawal afterward 鈥� a condition known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).

Rout鈥檚 grandson, Gabe, is now 8 years old but still has difficulties, she said. He has trouble sleeping, and he鈥檚 very sensitive to loud noises 鈥� like cheering at a soccer game.

鈥淚f the crowd cheered, he screamed like somebody was beating him and we were like, 鈥極h, my gosh, what鈥檚 going on?鈥欌�� Rout said. 鈥淪o we talked to the doctors, and they said that those were just some of the reactions, probably, from the exposure.鈥�

Rout and other guardians like her occupy an unusual place in the sprawling opioid litigation still unfolding in a federal courtroom in Cleveland. They鈥檙e not cities or counties, but they say they also have a case to make against the companies that manufactured, distributed and dispensed opioid painkillers.

Their attorneys blame drug companies for the addiction crisis that led many mothers to use drugs while pregnant. The plaintiffs want the drug industry to pay for treatment and continued study of how opioid exposure affects children as they grow up.

Attorneys for the Routs and hundreds of other guardians are asking U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland to recognize them as a group for a class-action lawsuit.

Chillicothe, Ohio, the county seat of Ross County, has been hard hit by the opioid crisis. [Nick Castele / ideastream]

Representatives of pharmaceutical companies did not respond to requests for comment. But in court filings in the local government litigation, they have said the industry shouldn鈥檛 be held responsible for a crisis of illegal drug use.

Kelso Reno, an attorney at Villarreal Law in Chillicothe, rejects that argument, saying prescription pills paved the way for hard drugs. Villarreal Law represents the Routs.

鈥淭hey made the profit, and then they want to step away and go, 鈥業t鈥檚 not our fault that these people are using heroin,鈥欌�� Reno said. 鈥淎nd in reality, when you trace it back, they鈥檙e the ones that opened the market.鈥�

The number of children discharged from Ohio hospitals with neonatal abstinence syndrome more than doubled between 2010 and 2016, . Since then, the number of new NAS cases has fallen slightly, but remains high.

Babies with NAS can be jittery and difficult to console, needing dark, quiet environments, according to Dr. Moira Crowley, a neonatologist at University Hospitals鈥� Rainbow Babies and Children鈥檚 Hospital in Cleveland. Health providers often treat such babies with morphine, tapering off the medication over two weeks, she said.

鈥淭hey were exposed to opiates. That鈥檚 what they鈥檙e withdrawing from,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd so we have to replace what they were seeing, and slowly, more slowly take it away.鈥�

That鈥檚 the short-term care. But the research isn鈥檛 definitive on how NAS affects children in the years after, as they grow up and go to school, Crowley said.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have good long-term neurologic outcome data, but it does seem that sometimes they have more delays in school, as they get to school age, in needing a little more help,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 have all of that information yet.鈥�

Tabitha and Tim Smalley hold their son, Liam, in their attorney's office in Chillicothe. [Nick Castele / ideastream]

Tim and Tabitha Smalley, who are also plaintiffs, have a story of extreme medical issues to tell.

Their adopted son, Liam, spent 205 days in the hospital after he was born. Doctors found several drugs in his system, including cocaine and opioids, according to the Smalleys.

Liam is now 7 years old and his life has been full of doctors鈥� visits and operations. He needed surgery to separate his fingers, and for some of his short life he has already had to use a colostomy bag, his parents said.

鈥淗e鈥檚 had more done to him than most adults have,鈥� Tim Smalley said. 鈥淎nd for him to go through all that, he鈥檚 still a loving and affectionate little boy.鈥�

The Smalleys took in Liam as foster parents and later adopted him. They鈥檝e taken many trips from the Portsmouth area, where they live, up to Nationwide Children鈥檚 Hospital in Columbus for Liam鈥檚 medical care. Late last year, he had seizures while in the hospital, the Smalleys said.

鈥淟iam鈥檚 life can be cut short, and it scares us,鈥� Tabitha Smalley said, 鈥渂ut we keep praying, and we鈥檝e got a higher power, and we believe in God.鈥�

Liam is in school with an individualized education plan. His parents hope to take him to Disney World in May.

鈥淭his child was not supposed to walk,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 supposed to do the things he鈥檚 doing.鈥�