'My heart just sunk': Mother recounts experience at packed Alberta Children's Hospital
An Alberta mother is recounting her experience arriving at a packed children's hospital when her young daughter was in dire need of help.
Amanda Weger said it's been a terrifying two weeks since she brought her daughter Avery into the Alberta Children's Hospital, where the 23-month-old remains with RSV and the flu.
"We originally went to urgent care here in Airdrie and the parking lot was completely packed," she said. "So, I decided to drive in to Children's."
A surge in respiratory illnesses in children has slammed the hospital – with wait times exceeding 12 hours.
With the hospital working at-capacity some days, Alberta Health Services set up a heated trailer outside as an overflow waiting room and paused respite care so staff from the children’s hospice can help at the hospital instead.
"It was scary, it was very scary," Weger said. "I saw that trailer being unloaded and my heart just sunk, like, is that where we are?"
But, it makes sense, she added. When Weger brought Avery in, the waiting room had chairs lined up to the doors.
"When we got there it was, it was insane," she said. "I think when I got there it was three and a half hours just to be triaged."
Her heart dropped when she saw the line, she said. However, when a nurse came to help move them to another chair and noticed Avery's condition, they were taken to the ICU right away.
Weger said she was shocked to find it full.
"The doctor had told me as well that, he's like, 'Today we've got 15 kids in here that are all the same as Avery or worse,'" she said. "And that's scary right? You have an entire ICU unit completely full of kids on ventilators.
"All of these kids are in there because they have some kind of respiratory virus, and most of them – like Avery – had two or more."
Despite being overworked, Weger said the staff has been wonderful. But she worries about the continuing pressure on a health-care system already strained from the pandemic.
Avery was born during COVID-19, spending time in the NICU during lockdowns. And that wasn't as bad as what she's watching her daughter live through now, Weger said.
"This is scarier to me because we've completely exhausted our health-care system now for almost three years, and now we're getting hit with this huge wave of sick kids," she said.
"It's rough. I feel for all of us that are in there right now, because it is scary. The nurses are so overworked."
Weger said Avery is improving, and the family is hoping to get her home in time for her birthday on Christmas Day. But, Avery still hasn't been able to pass the tests she needs to be released.
"She can't come home. And it's just frustrating," she said. "Like, I know she's in the best place but we had three Christmases in a row that have been in hospital or trauma or chaos, so I was really hoping that this was going to be our first normal Christmas."
The province says it's working to build capacity, but is hopeful the surge of RSV and flu may soon subside.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.