A 9-year-old boy who died last year While in the care of the Arizona Department of Child Welfare In the weeks leading up to his death, he was hospitalized twice for life-threatening diabetes complications, according to autopsy reports released this month.

The state detained Jacob Blodgett on Dec. 9 after his father, Richard Blodgett, was arrested on suspicion of drug possession. By the end of the year, Jacob died.

The Maricopa County coroner’s report listed the boy’s cause of death as complications of type 1 diabetes, including a serious complication known as ketoacidosis. The manner of death was described as natural.

Blodgett, 47, said his son was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a toddler.

Blodgett, who already had a drug case pending at the time of his arrest, remains in custody in Holbrook, about three hours from Phoenix. In a message sent Monday night from the facility, he said he was having trouble coping with his son’s death.

“I have no choice but to do my best to deal with it,” he wrote to the Associated Press, adding, “It sucks and my heart is broken.”

Jacob’s medical history included “poorly controlled” diabetes, according to the report, but the doctor who performed the boy’s autopsy did not specify how long ago the medical history was. It mainly focuses on the week he spent in care of the state.

Jacob was hospitalized with ketoacidosis the same day he was brought into state custody, according to reports. He was discharged from the hospital on his December 15th and moved to his home in the City of Phoenix. While at his home, Jacob resisted insulin therapy and blood sugar monitoring, his autopsy said.

An autopsy showed that Jacob was vomiting and had a swollen brain by the time he was taken to hospital on December 21.

Initial symptoms include excessive thirst and urination, while more serious symptoms include nausea and vomiting, according to Jared Greenholtz, a California-based emergency physician who specializes in treating diabetic ketoacidosis. It is included.

Greenholtz, who reviewed the coroner’s report, said Jacob’s body was under more stress than usual during his second hospitalization because it had been less than two weeks since he had been treated for ketoacidosis. said.

Blodgett said his son was already on life support when Arizona Department of Child Safety officials visited him to break the news to the Holbrook prison.

State officials on Monday declined to comment on the coroner’s findings, citing confidentiality laws.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into Jacob’s death. A spokeswoman said Friday an investigation was ongoing.

Blodgett said he had managed his son’s condition for years until he was recently arrested. We believe that the State has failed in its duty to protect our son either by

Amy Hernandez, a personal injury and wrongful death attorney hired by Blodgett to investigate her son’s death, believes the coroner’s report supports Blodgett’s theory.

“Even if Richard was the least tightly controlled, once Jacob came under state control, the state at the time was responsible for his care and welfare.

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AP journalist Felicia Fonseca of Flagstaff, Arizona contributed to this report.