A 13-year-old boy from Ohio died while trying to complete a viral TikTok challenge with his friends. Jacob Stevens overdosed on the over-the-counter allergy medicine Benadryl while recording the challenge at home, and he started to have a seizure, per ABC 6. The boy’s parents are using his story to warn others and calling for parents to pay attention to what their kids are doing on their phones.
The boy’s father, Justin Stevens, is also trying to influence lawmakers to set age restrictions for buying medications like Benadryl and calling for better restrictions on social media platforms such as TikTok, the news outlet reported.
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The TikTok challenge was meant to cause a hallucination, but like so many other TikTok challenges, it sadly took a turn for the worst.
The TikTok challenge that the teen participated in was meant to create a hallucination by taking 12 to 14 pills — far beyond the recommended dosage. Instead, that amount of Benadryl killed Jacob, according to ABC 6.
Although not every challenge on TikTok is potentially dangerous, this is not the first time a young person has been harmed in a challenge on the social media platform. Other challenges such as the Blackout Challenge, involving holding your breath with an object tied around your neck, have led to minors fainting and even dying.
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The teen boy was on a ventilator for a week before he died.
When Jacob Stevens started to have a seizure after overdosing, he was taken to the hospital, where he was on a ventilator for six days before he died.
"I’m going to do anything I can to make sure another child doesn’t go through it," said Jacob’s grandmother, Dianna Stevens, according to ABC 6.
The family then received the devastating news that Jacob wouldn’t wake up.
“No brain scan, there was nothing there. They said we could keep him on the vent, that he could lay there but he will never open his eyes, he’ll never breathe, smile, walk or talk," Justin Stevens said, according to the New York Post.
The young teen will be missed by his family and community.
Justin Stevens said his son always brightened his day. “It didn’t matter how bad of a day I was having no one could make me smile, Jacob could make me smile," he shared, according to ABC 6.
Jacob Stevens played football at Greenfield School and is described by his parents as a funny, loving, and well-mannered kid, the news outlet reported.
Jacob’s aunt Ashley Dean started a GoFundMe account to help the family with funeral expenses. “We have prayed and prayed for a miracle and that we would be able to bring Jacob home. No mother should have to say goodbye to their baby!" she wrote on the page. "This is so heartbreaking and I have no words to comfort her. Please, anything will help.”
The boy’s father is using his story to warn others and calling for change from lawmakers and social media platforms.
After the heartbreaking incident, Jacob’s father wants to warn other parents.
"Keep an eye at what they're doing on that phone. Talk to them about the situation. I want everyone to know about my son," Justin Stevens said, according to ABC 6.
Additionally, he is trying to get help from lawmakers to place age restrictions for buying Benadryl and for TikTok to have age restrictions and require photo IDs to make an account, the news outlet reported.
A funeral for Jacob Stevens will be held next week at Summers Funeral Home in Washington Court House, Ohio, per the GoFundMe page.
