A North Carolina couple brought their toddler to a dental office last week for what they thought was supposed to be routine cavity surgery.
That was the last time they saw him alive.
“He was all good this morning, nothing was wrong,” David Mitchell, the father of two-year-old Er’Mias Mitchell, told WXII-TV on Friday. “They checked his heart, checked his weight, and checked everything. It was all good until they took him back there.”
A short time later, medical staff came out to tell the couple Er’Mias had experienced complications during the procedure, which was performed under anesthesia at Valleygate Dental Surgery Center in Greensboro.
Er’Mias’ lung had collapsed, they said.
“We was like, so where’s our son?” Mitchell said.
He was already on his way to the hospital, they were told.
“He was already gone in the ambulance and we was like, why don’t you tell us?” Mitchell said.
They were later horrified to learn that Er’Mias had died.
REST IN PEACE 🙏 A North Carolina family said they brought 2-year-old Er’Mias Mitchell in for a dental procedure around 6 a.m. Within 40 minutes, an ambulance showed up to rush him to the emergency room. https://t.co/LcFIMGHvPo
📸: Kyra Smith pic.twitter.com/AFOB5HCqZS
— 10 Tampa Bay (@10TampaBay) July 18, 2025
“Er’Mias was a joyful, loving child — full of life, laughter, and endless curiosity,” according to a GoFundMe campaign. “He was the only child of Sharde Sherrill and David Mitchell. His unexpected loss has left their hearts shattered.”
David Mitchell was described in the fundraising appeal as an active-duty service member. Sharde Sherrill was a stay-at-home mother.
Er’Mias was a dinosaur lover who was particularly fond of T-Rexes.
“He even went to his dental surgery center with his T-Rex,” David Mitchell told WRAL-TV.
The father said his little boy was an only child and called him the couple’s “miracle baby.”
He said the blow was particularly hard for the boy’s mother. “This being her miracle baby, just, it’s like a life is stolen from her, and we don’t know what to do,” he told the news outlet.
The dental surgery center said in a statement that such complications are rare, but they can occur unexpectedly, even under carefully controlled circumstances.
WXII said the Greensboro Police Department is investigating, as is the North Carolina Dental Board.
Kyra Smith, Er’Mias’ grandmother, told WRAL, “There’s no coming back from this.”
“Never would I have thought that I’d only have two years with my baby,” she said. “It’s traumatizing, so I just want families to be aware. I want to bring awareness. I don’t want to let his name go in vain. I want them to say his name — Er’Mias Lewis Mitchell.”
The GoFundMe campaign is being set up to raise money for the boy’s funeral expenses as well as legal fees “as the family seeks answers and accountability surrounding this tragic incident.”
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