Parents demand investigation after 2-year-old dies following dental procedure in Greensboro
By Christian Petersen
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GREENSBORO, Georgia (WXII) — The parents of 2-year-old Er’Mias Mitchell are seeking a criminal investigation after he died last July following a dental procedure at Valleygate Dental Surgery Center in Greensboro.
Sharde Sherrill and David Mitchell described their son as a healthy, playful, and smart child who loved spending time with his father.
“He is very, very playful. He can go on and on and on. He’ll wear you out,” Sherrill said.
“Er’Mias was my best friend. That was like my mini-me. We did everything together,” Mitchell said.
Sherrill recalled how her son would join his father while working on the car.
“I used to work on my car outside. He would come out there and try to grab tools and try to do it with me all the time, too. It just made me think I did something about him, like he was just like his own little man, but he was just like a super mini man in a sense,” Mitchell said.
Their lives changed forever last July when Er’Mias died after being given anesthesia before a dental procedure.
“The day he died, a lot of me died that day too. And I’ve been struggling to go on because I feel like it’s unfair,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill and Mitchell said they were not informed by staff at Valleygate Dental Surgery Center that their son was in distress while they waited in the waiting room.
According to the autopsy report, Er’Mias went into cardiac arrest after receiving a second dose of Propofol to sedate him. He later died at the hospital.
“Every day, I’m just hoping I’m living in a dream. I’m hoping when I wake up, I hear my son say, ‘Mama.’ But then I wake up and I don’t hear it. So then I realize it’s my new reality that my baby is, he’s gone,” Sherrill said.
Er’Mias’ parents said they were unaware he had been given Propofol and are calling for a criminal investigation into his death.
In a letter obtained by WXII, Guilford County District Attorney Avery Crump said their office does not comment on whether an investigation is being conducted. Crump wrote, “The medical examiner lists the manner of death as natural and I am not aware of this conclusion being amended.”
Sherrill said, “They will see then our son did not die of natural causes. My son went to a dental procedure and went into cardiac arrest. And something led to him going into cardiac arrest.”
The North Carolina Medical Board said all investigations are confidential. Er’Mias’ parents and their attorney plan to hold a news conference tomorrow in front of the Guilford County Courthouse, urging the district attorney to investigate their son’s death.
Valleygate Dental Surgery Center has not responded to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Greensboro Police Department said there are no updates in the case.
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