'Super thankful'; Family visits with firefighters who saved infant from fentanyl death
SAN FRANCISCO -- It started as a fun day at a San Francisco park for little Senna Matkovic with his nanny and twin brother, Antun.
But moments later, the 10-month-old was on death's door. The little boy had somehow been exposed to fentanyl at San Francisco's Moscone Park.
Thankfully the fast actions by the nanny and quick-arriving paramedics pulled Senna out of danger.
This week, his parents -- Ivan and Kerina Matkovic -- and little Senna visited the paramedics at a San Francisco firehouse to thank them.
"We're just super thankful that they knew what to do in that moment," Ivan Matkovic said.
When Ivan raced to the park that day, he couldn't believe the horror of watching his son struggle for his life.
"By the time I arrived, he was laying flat on his back," he told KPIX. "They had a breathing apparatus on his face. Apparently, he was completely blue."
The paramedics quickly treated Senna with Narcan.
"They knew all the signs and decided to administer Narcan," he said. "And he popped back almost instantly after that."
Fire rescue captain Robert Kuzma said the paramedics have become very experienced at quickly identifying the signs of a fentanyl overdose.
"Someone who wasn't responsive and stopped breathing is very characteristic of a possible opioid overdose," he said. "And to be frank, this is not my first pediatric opioid overdose."
"Within 10 seconds, he started breathing, opened his eyes, looked right at me, kind of scanned the room and started crying," paramedic Aaron Rivers added.
But the mystery still remains. How did the youngster become exposed to the deadly opioid at the park?
