'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
BREAKING Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.