DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — For first responders like David Burkham, it's a visceral gut punch.
"It's does tug at your heart strings," he said. "It's one of the saddest things you can see."
Burkham has seen drug epidemics come and go over the course of his 42 years as an EMT, but the overdose calls still stick out in his mind.
"We're starting to see a really big increase in overdoses," Burkham said. "[It] just stacks up one after another. If there's one drug in the house, there's usually more than one drug."
Overdoses are difficult enough, but when you throw kids into the mix, it makes the scene ever more challenging.
"The first thing we have to take into consideration is the psychological effect on the kids," Burkham said.
Secondhand exposure to methamphetamine and other drugs can cause kids to develop behavioral issues like irritability and ADHD. It can also lead to drug abuse and criminal activity when they get older.
Teachers are often among the first to notice the subtle signs of kids growing up around drugs.
"They would look for signs such as a child who is dirty...tardiness, maybe an absent parent picking a child up," said licensed clinical professional counselor Kim Peters.
It's a problem that isn't going away anytime soon. For Burkham, trying to save an overdosing parent in front of their child will never be easy.
"They're seeing a parent who has overdosed and depending [upon] how badly, we may be working resuscitation right in front of the children," he said.
