Latest news with #StolleryChildrensHospital
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'He wants to live in this world': Edmonton paramedic's infant son in need of heart transplant
As a paramedic, JC Apuada is trained to stay calm under pressure. But nothing could prepare him for the moment when his three-week-old boy's heart stopped beating. Apuada performed CPR and helped save young Oliver's life but, over the past 53 days, his son has been fighting to stay alive through five more cardiac arrest episodes. Doctors at the Stollery Children's Hospital are still trying to diagnose what's causing his heart to give out. 'I just remember walking into the door with my (older) son Theodore after picking him up from daycare, and I heard my wife saying, 'Can you come here quick?' ' recalled Apuada. 'I went to the living room, and she was holding Oliver, and he just looked like a different baby. He was colourless, and he was barely breathing. She was asking if he was OK, and I just remember saying, 'I don't know.' 'We called 911, and I started CPR. It was so scary.' After being rushed to the Stollery, doctors stabilized Oliver and performed a series of tests, but the following day he went into cardiac arrest again. He was put on an Ecmo (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) machine, which is a life support system for patients with severe heart problems. It stabilized his heart for a period of time, but he continued to have cardiac arrest episodes — a pattern all the more mysterious because Oliver's twin sister has experienced no issues. 'They told us that this isn't sustainable anymore, which was very hard for us to hear,' said Apuada. 'When we've got a perfectly healthy twin baby (girl) at home, and our toddler is also healthy. They just kept telling us, 'We don't know what's causing this to happen.' ' Doctors told Apuada and his wife Britni that their next option was to place Oliver with a Berlin heart, which is a ventricular-assist device. Oliver had to go through open heart surgery, and now has two external pumps that act as his heart. Doctors have done a multitude of tests, including genetic testing on Oliver, JC and Britni, and also performed a biopsy during the open-heart surgery. Each test came back normal. Now, JC and Britni have been told that the best course of action for their infant is for him to receive a new heart. 'They still don't have any answers,' said Apuada. 'It still doesn't really feel real. It's like we're living a nightmare, and we just can't wake up from it.' Oliver will be placed on a donor list, but because of his age, they could be waiting for as long as up to two years. Through all of the cardiac arrests, Oliver's heart has been shocked a total of nine times. 'I remember having a talk with my wife, and it hurts me to say, but when one of the arrests happened, they ended up shocking his heart twice, and I remember hearing my wife saying, 'I don't think he's going to make it,' and in the back of my head, I didn't know if he was going to come out of it — but he has,' said Apuada. 'It's been a wild roller-coaster. Just going from the lowest of the lows, and then you see him improve. But throughout all of this, all you have is hope to hold onto.' The Apuadas have been thrown so much information, and faced decisions no parents should ever have to go through. JC admits they probably haven't processed everything they're truly going through right now — but they're staying as strong as they can despite so many unknowns. A GoFundme has been set up to help support the family. 'The Stollery doctors are some of the best in the world. They're experts. But the reality is when those experts are telling us we don't have an answer for you, it's very hard,' said Apuada. 'We're going to proceed with a transplant, and he will get a new heart, but even then, they don't know if his body is going to do the same thing, because right now, they don't have answers.' Apuada said his wife had no issues throughout the pregnancy. Outside of some minor hypertension one week before giving birth that led to her having a C-section, every ultrasound, blood work and other test came back with no concerns when Oliver and his twin sister Eloise were born. They didn't have any complications when their oldest son was born, either. Oliver remains in hospital, and as the Apuadas wait for him to be stabilized enough to go home, they also wait for that call for a new heart. That's crystallized the stark reality of their situation, but also made them feel proud of Oliver, who keeps fighting despite having spent more time in hospital than at home in his young life. 'In order for Oliver to have a new heart, another family somewhere would have to go through a situation way worse than what we've gone through so far and I remember Britni saying that it's hard, because we were so close to being that family, too,' said Apuada. 'We take a lot of inspiration from Oliver. He wants to live in this world, and he's fighting for it and we're doing the best we can to do whatever it takes to get him through this.' jhills@ One year, four babies and a 'Village' of love: Edmonton quadruplets' family grateful for outpouring of support Cooking with heart: Chef mentoring Ukrainian newcomers at Edmonton kitchen 'You know the grief they're living': Foundation supplying care packages to Alberta organ donor families
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Some Alberta hospitals triaging probable measles patients in vehicles
Some Alberta hospitals are triaging probable measles patients in their vehicles, as the province's outbreak continues to grow. Harkening back to the COVID-19 days, patients showing up at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in south Edmonton with measles symptoms are now being triaged in the ambulance bay rather than waiting for isolation rooms. Janet Laurie, a spokesperson for Covenant Health, said in an email that it expedites the process and ensures patients receive the care they need. She added that the process was in place in many other sites in Alberta. Dr. Stephanie Smith, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta Hospital, said the triage system being used adds an "extra layer of caution" that also protects other patients in the emergency department. She said the system has been in place for at least the past couple of months, especially in facilities like the Stollery Children's Hospital, where young children cannot be fully vaccinated. Of Edmonton's total 12 measles cases since March, three were detected at the Grey Nuns. "This is of great concern given how contagious measles is and the risk to children under five and patients who are immunocompromised," Laurie said. "An outbreak on a unit would close it down to further admissions and place additional stress on the system." A spokesperson for Alberta Health Services said the process is used at health-care facilities but it is not used often. "It is used as needed and has been in place intermittently since March, so it is not a new measure," said Kristi Bland in an email. "It is not a response to a significant increase in cases, nor does it reflect an unreported or emerging number of cases." Former Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. James Talbot weighed in as the province's caseload hit 1,246 Wednesday. "It says we're in dangerous territory," said Talbot, an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta's School of Public Health. "What physicians and public health experts have been saying for months now is that the province has been very slow to react to this." "We now have the worst record in North America." Talbot said he is worried growing outbreaks could lead to the country losing its measles-free status. Being stripped of the status achieved in 1998 could have both reputational and economic impacts for Canada, he said. "If the control measures are in place and used properly and properly resourced, we didn't have to get there and we still have the ability to get back to where there aren't any measles," Talbot said. "But the longer it lasts, the more people affected, the more costly it's going to be, the longer it's going to take to get back to zero." Vaccination rates up: province Maddison McKee, press Secretary to Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services Adriana LaGrange, said vaccination efforts are making a difference, including the addition of clinics and extended hours. She said during an ongoing multi-lingual immunization campaign launched in May, Alberta saw immunizations increase by more than 65 per cent compared to the same time last year. "Between March 16 and June 28, more than 75,000 measles vaccines were administered across Alberta—an increase of more than 57 per cent compared with the same period last year. In the South Zone alone, vaccine uptake rose by 126 per cent," McKee wrote. She pointed out that there have been no new cases in Edmonton since March and none that are currently active. Talbot said he wants to see regular updates from Alberta's chief medical officer of health alongside a more robust marketing campaign because of the possibility of exposures over the summer at events like baseball tournaments, summer camps and family gatherings. "That's potential for spread to other provinces," Talbot said. "And then come the fall, we'll see those kids return and go into school. And so then we'll have another wave that we have to worry about."
CTV News
03-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Person with confirmed case of measles was at the Stollery, U of A Hospital
An exterior shot of the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, on Jan. 23, 2022 (CTV News Edmonton/Dave Mitchell). Alberta Health Services (AHS) is warning of a potential measles exposure in Edmonton as a person with a confirmed case was at the University of Alberta Hospital on Wednesday. People who were at the Stollery Children's Hospital emergency department or the University of Alberta Hospital foyers on July 2 between 7:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. may have been exposed to the highly-infectious disease. Anyone who was at these locations during the specified times, who was born in or after 1970 and has fewer than two documented doses of the measles vaccine may be at risk of developing measles. Symptoms of measles include a fever of 38.3 C or higher, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash that appears three to seven days after the fever starts. Complications of measles can include ear infections, pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, premature delivery, and, rarely, death. Should symptoms of measles develop, AHS advises people to stay home and call the measles hotline at 1-844-944-3434 before visiting any health care facility or provider, including a family physician clinic or pharmacy. If you think you have been exposed and are not protected against measles, you may be able to receive immunization to reduce the risk of infection. A vaccine dose needs to be given within 72 hours of exposure to prevent measles. Babies under one year of age, people with severely weakened immune systems, and those who are pregnant may be able to receive immunoglobulin within six days of exposure to prevent disease. The advisory comes after 10 new cases were confirmed in the province since Wednesday afternoon. Since the beginning of the year, there have been 1,179 measles cases in Alberta. The Government of Canada has reported 3,526 measles cases across the country within the same time period. Alberta has the second-most cases in the country, trailing behind Ontario which has had 2,216 cases this year.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Measles 'out of control,' experts warn, as Alberta case counts surpass 1,000
Alberta's measles outbreaks have now eclipsed the 1,000-case mark and infectious disease specialists are warning the virus is "impossible to contain," given the current level of transmission. The province reported another 24 cases on Friday, including 14 in the north zone, nine in the south and one in the Edmonton zone. This brings the total confirmed cases since the outbreaks began in March to 1,020. "It is a very grim milestone," said Dr. Karina Top, a pediatric infectious disease physician at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, which has been treating children with measles. "I'm very worried we're going to see more hospitalizations and some deaths soon because we know the death rate is about one to two per thousand. So it's likely that we're going to see that and that will be a very tragic day." Measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain inflammation — which can trigger seizures, deafness and brain damage — as well as premature delivery. A premature baby who was born with measles died in Ontario recently. And another young child died of measles in that province last year. Doctors warn there are severe long-term consequences as well, including immune system impacts and a degenerative neurological condition that occurs seven to ten years after an initial measles infection. It is rare but nearly always fatal. 'Out of control' Alberta's case count has more than doubled in the last month. On May 20, a total of 486 cases had been confirmed. "This is out of control," said Top. The hardest hit areas are the south, central and north zones, where there are some very low vaccination rates among young children. Case counts have been rising quickly in the north zone, which has now topped 200 cases. The south zone has confirmed 681 cases and the central zone has 105. And health officials are warning the virus is more widespread in those areas than case counts reflect. "Due to the number of people in these areas who may not be immune to measles, it's likely that some cases are going undetected or unreported," the Alberta government's measles web page states. "I think we really need to be doing everything we can to engage with those communities that are affected and community leaders to see how best we can work with them to try to get people vaccinated to help contain this infection," said Top. "And [we need to] get everyone else up to date so that if there are other cases introduced in Edmonton, Calgary or elsewhere in the province, it can be contained more quickly." University of Calgary infectious disease physician Dr. Dan Gregson is also worried about Alberta's surging measles cases. "This transmission is just out of the box. It's impossible to contain at the present time," he said. "The risk, right now, of your child getting measles in Alberta if they're not immunized is pretty high." Gregson is urging parents who have opted not to immunize their children to rethink that decision. "If you had made a decision not to vaccinate because measles was not circulating, that's no longer true. We don't have herd immunity. There's measles circulating in the community. And the best way to prevent your child from having a complication would be to get them vaccinated," he said. The vast majority of Alberta's measles cases are among the unimmunized. The most recent data shows 85 Albertans have been hospitalized due to this year's outbreaks, including 14 who have ended up in intensive care. "Most of these hospitalizations are due to patients having pneumonia — they're short of breath, they have to wear oxygen. Some of them are due to brain inflammation. [It's] not a pleasant thing for the parents or the child to have to go through," said Gregson. In Edmonton, where the Stollery Children's Hospital is treating the sickest patients from northern Alberta, Top said the outbreaks are taking a toll. "It is distressing as a pediatrician to see children that are sick from a disease that is completely vaccine preventable." According to provincial data, as of Friday there was one Albertan in ICU due to measles. No deaths have been reported.
CBC
21-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Measles 'out of control,' experts warn, as Alberta case counts surpass 1,000
Alberta's measles outbreaks have now eclipsed the 1,000-case mark and infectious disease specialists are warning the virus is "impossible to contain," given the current level of transmission. The province reported another 24 cases on Friday, including 14 in the north zone, nine in the south and one in the Edmonton zone. This brings the total confirmed cases since the outbreaks began in March to 1,020. "It is a very grim milestone," said Dr. Karina Top, a pediatric infectious disease physician at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, which has been treating children with measles. "I'm very worried we're going to see more hospitalizations and some deaths soon because we know the death rate is about one to two per thousand. So it's likely that we're going to see that and that will be a very tragic day." Measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain inflammation — which can trigger seizures, deafness and brain damage — as well as premature delivery. A premature baby who was born with measles died in Ontario recently. And another young child died of measles in that province last year. Doctors warn there are severe long-term consequences as well, including immune system impacts and a degenerative neurological condition that occurs seven to ten years after an initial measles infection. It is rare but nearly always fatal. 'Out of control' Alberta's case count has more than doubled in the last month. On May 20, a total of 486 cases had been confirmed. "This is out of control," said Top. The hardest hit areas are the south, central and north zones, where there are some very low vaccination rates among young children. Case counts have been rising quickly in the north zone, which has now topped 200 cases. The south zone has confirmed 681 cases and the central zone has 105. And health officials are warning the virus is more widespread in those areas than case counts reflect. "Due to the number of people in these areas who may not be immune to measles, it's likely that some cases are going undetected or unreported," the Alberta government's measles web page states. "I think we really need to be doing everything we can to engage with those communities that are affected and community leaders to see how best we can work with them to try to get people vaccinated to help contain this infection," said Top. "And [we need to] get everyone else up to date so that if there are other cases introduced in Edmonton, Calgary or elsewhere in the province, it can be contained more quickly." University of Calgary infectious disease physician Dr. Dan Gregson is also worried about Alberta's surging measles cases. "This transmission is just out of the box. It's impossible to contain at the present time," he said. "The risk, right now, of your child getting measles in Alberta if they're not immunized is pretty high." Gregson is urging parents who have opted not to immunize their children to rethink that decision. "If you had made a decision not to vaccinate because measles was not circulating, that's no longer true. We don't have herd immunity. There's measles circulating in the community. And the best way to prevent your child from having a complication would be to get them vaccinated," he said. The vast majority of Alberta's measles cases are among the unimmunized. The most recent data shows 85 Albertans have been hospitalized due to this year's outbreaks, including 14 who have ended up in intensive care. "Most of these hospitalizations are due to patients having pneumonia — they're short of breath, they have to wear oxygen. Some of them are due to brain inflammation. [It's] not a pleasant thing for the parents or the child to have to go through," said Gregson. In Edmonton, where the Stollery Children's Hospital is treating the sickest patients from northern Alberta, Top said the outbreaks are taking a toll. "It is distressing as a pediatrician to see children that are sick from a disease that is completely vaccine preventable."
