{"id":896048,"date":"2026-10-27T05:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/896048\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T05:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:46:15","slug":"2-year-old-suffers-catastrophic-brain-injury-after-exposure-to-7-oh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/896048\/","title":{"rendered":"2-year-old suffers catastrophic brain injury after exposure to 7-OH"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUBURN, Ind. (WPTA<\/a>\/Gray News) – An Indiana 2-year-old suffered catastrophic brain injury after police say he was exposed to a drug called 7-OH.<\/p>\n

Police charged 20-year-old Kole Schwarz with neglect of a dependent resulting in catastrophic injury. Court records say Schwarz was the mother\u2019s live-in boyfriend at the time.<\/p>\n

\"20-years-old\"20-years-old(ACSD)<\/p>\n

Family members say the toddler was rushed to a hospital in DeKalb County on Sept. 6, where the affidavit says he was \u201cunresponsive and placed in a medically induced coma.\u201d <\/p>\n

The child was later transferred to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis. <\/p>\n

Court papers say a specialized lab test later found kratom-related drugs in his blood.<\/p>\n

Investigators say the child\u2019s mother told them she believed Schwarz used \u201c7-OHs\u201d and she was concerned the toddler may have ingested one.<\/p>\n

Detectives say Schwarz admitted buying tablets sold as \u201c7-OH\u201d under the counter through a contact in Fort Wayne. <\/p>\n

The detective calls that product the likely source of the exposure. Schwarz told police the tablets stayed sealed in his pocket.<\/p>\n

Court papers say the child had an \u201cunknown green substance around his mouth\u201d and a doctor found MRI evidence that met the criteria for catastrophic injury.<\/p>\n

\""I“I pray every day that he keeps getting healing,” the child’s grandmother says.(Josie Casebere)<\/p>\n

Auburn police say the mother of the child is not a suspect in the case and has cooperated throughout the investigation.<\/p>\n

The toddler\u2019s grandmother, Josie Casebere, says she spent six weeks in the hospital with her grandson. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been the hardest thing in my life. I mean, I\u2019ve lost parents and friends, and this is… I know we didn\u2019t lose him, but it\u2019s still been the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever went through,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a wheelchair order that\u2019s supposed to fit him until he\u2019s six. If that tells you anything. They don\u2019t know that he\u2019ll ever walk again or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The FDA calls 7-OH a potent opioid concentrated from kratom<\/a>, warning of a \u201cconcerning proliferation of concentrated 7-OH products that are sold over the counter and online.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis public health threat is troubling and requires immediate and impactful policies to educate consumers and take regulatory action that limits access to 7-OH-containing products,\u201d the FDA\u2019s report says. <\/p>\n

It is illegal in Indiana, but in Michigan, it is sold as gummies, drinks and pills. <\/p>\n

Berrien County health officials<\/a> warned last week that kratom-related hospitalizations are rising. Michigan has no statewide age limit.<\/p>\n

\u201cKratom contains a chemical called 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine), which acts like an opioid and can cause severe withdrawal symptoms. Kratom is an increasingly popular substance among teens and is sold at gas stations and smoke shops as candy-flavored gummies, drinks, pills and more,\u201d the county\u2019s health warning says. \u201cWhile advertised as an energy booster, mood lifter, pain reliever and remedy for symptoms of quitting opioids, kratom can cause serious health issues, such as seizures, liver toxicity and substance use disorder. It also can lead to an overdose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casebere says she spoke out to raise awareness about 7-OH. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re labeling it however they want to because it\u2019s not regulated, and they\u2019re selling it to our kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WPTA via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUBURN, Ind. (WPTA\/Gray News) – An Indiana 2-year-old suffered catastrophic brain injury after police say he was exposed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":896049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[36522,375638,375636,375637,11551,3071,97,36524],"class_list":["post-896048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-7-oh","tag-7-ohs","tag-7oh","tag-7ohs","tag-arrest","tag-crime","tag-health","tag-kratom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}