More cases continue to be linked to the Calgary daycare E. coli outbreak. And while some parents are having to watch as their kids are being hospitalized, other parents are taking action to seek restitution.
On Friday, Alberta Health Services said there were 142 lab-confirmed cases linked to the outbreak and 26 kids were stable in hospital – one at the Peter Lougheed Centre and the rest at the Alberta Children’s Hospital – and five patients had been discharged from hospital. On Thursday, the outbreak included 128 lab-confirmed cases and hospitals had 25 patients.
Calgary Zone medical officer of health Dr. Franco Rizzuti said 11 of those hospitalized patients have more serious illness than the bloody diarrhea that is part of a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection, which includes hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and other complications.
Rizzuti said a “small number” of kids were requiring dialysis, “however, this number is too small to provide for privacy reasons” and dialysis machines were brought in from other AHS sites in case they are needed in the coming days.
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One of those children on dialysis is three-year-old Amelia Leonard.
Amelia’s father Ryan said it wasn’t until the second day of bloodwork that doctors caught any kidney dysfunction in Amelia.
“(Her kidneys are) not doing as much as they’re supposed to be doing,” Ryan told Global News.
He said his daughter was in good spirits the day before she was admitted to hospital for monitoring. Her dialysis started on Friday, and a family member set up a GoFundMe to help with costs associated with Amelia’s hospitalization.
Amelia Leonard, one of more than 100 children impacted by a daycare E. coli outbreak, sleeps in a bed at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Courtesy Ryan Leonard
“It’s definitely scary to think that at that age, kids shouldn’t be having to go through this. They should be having fun and stuff, especially with her birthday next week, on the Wednesday,” Ryan said.
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Doctors said she could face a month-long stay in hospital, but didn’t have any predictions on how she’ll fare through the treatments.
“They say that she’s in a good spot, but they can’t really confidently say if tomorrow she’s going to be better or she’s going to start getting worse and worse, because it’s kind of hard to tell – is what they have been saying to me,” Ryan said.
“All my thoughts have just been on my kid.”
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As more cases are linked to the outbreak, which was declared earlier this week, parents are seeking redress of some sort.
Kate Maxwell, who runs a cleaning business, has a son who attended Fueling Brains Academy in its Centennial location. She said she learned about the outbreak while working in Canmore, Alta., listening to Global News Radio.
“Just thinking about the parents, obviously, and just thinking, like, ‘Am I going to find something with Farley? Like, is he getting sick? Is he going to get sick? And just how did this happen when you’re responsible for children?’” she said.
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She said her son hasn’t yet had any symptoms of an E. coli infection. Maxwell credits her son’s food preferences for him likely avoiding an infection.
But she’s been in contact with other parents about the outbreak.
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“People are livid,” Maxwell said. “I just think that they feel like they don’t know where to turn and what to do, because especially when there is no real presence of the company and not a lot of answers. And I think everybody’s kind of waiting to see how this unfolds.
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“I was talking to another parent yesterday and (their child) just got admitted (to hospital). So it’s not over. It’s not there are still people being admitted getting sick.”
A statement of claim for a potential class action was filed in court Friday morning.
“Katie, our representative plaintiff, she just wants to do the best she can for all of these families because she’s not only experienced, but witnessed first-hand in the hospital room next door, what these children and parents are going through,” Maia Tomljanovic, partner at Cumming & Gillespie Lawyers, told Global News.
“We’re all used to the illnesses that we expect with daycare or school-aged children. But this is not what you expect as a parent,” Tomljanovic, who is also a mother, said. “And yeah, I can’t imagine what they’re going through, especially those who are in the hospital and are having to have blood drawn on a daily basis. That’s really tough with little kids.”
Tomljanovic said a number of families have reached out to the law firm and the statement of claim names all of the daycares, central kitchen and other facilities.
More to come…
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