鈥淗e had 92 days as an adult,鈥� Lee Pratt said of his son.
Aidan Pratt鈥檚 final weeks in Oliver were a parent鈥檚 worst nightmare. The 19-year-old was one of 12 people to catch a meningococcal infection before the Interior Health Authority publicly announced the outbreak in mid-December.
As IH prepares to declare the outbreak over next week, the Pratts are still looking for answers, and they feel like they鈥檝e been left high and dry months after Aidan鈥檚 death.
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| Aidan Pratt, 19, was one of 12 people to catch a meningococcal infection during an outbreak in the Okanagan.Submitted photo |
Aidan not only contracted meningococcal disease, but he was also attempting to get help with some stomach issues he and his father suffered from. It is still unclear whether he died of a gastrointestinal bleed or the meningitis, but his parents said he seemed to receive little help on either front.
Aidan initially went to the hospital on Sept. 21, where he waited three hours, with an expected wait time up to another five hours. When he and other patients were advised they make follow-up appointments with their doctors, Aidan called his family doctor.
When he was given an Oct. 6 appointment, Lesley Pratt, his mother, said she told Aidan to call back. Aidan was given the opportunity to call in each day and see if any appointments had cancelled, and he was eventually able to get into the doctor鈥檚 office on Sept. 27.
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鈥淗e explained the situation of the girl in regards to the meningitis,鈥� Lesley said.
鈥淚 normally am an advocate for him, so I鈥檓 usually present at these meetings. He didn鈥檛 want me to come because he was now 19, he could do this on his own. 鈥� All those years I thought I was his biggest advocate. I was there for him at all his appointments and made sure that I was on top of things.鈥�
The grieving parents also said Aidan told the doctor about the symptoms he had been suffering from with the upper-GI issues, for which the doctor had treated Lee for years.
Despite that, Aidan鈥檚 parents said the doctor didn鈥檛 send the young man for any of the same tests his father had been put through for those same issues, but only came out with a protein pump inhibitor to reduce acid production in the stomach 鈥� something Lee compared with putting a coat of paint on a rain-stained roof.
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鈥淎nd we know that in his doctor鈥檚 appointment, the last doctor鈥檚 appointment, we know that he mentioned that he had splitting headaches and can鈥檛 sleep at night. Classic meningitis. (He was) exhausted,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淥ur doctor is in our community. He鈥檚 aware 鈥� or should be aware 鈥� of any outbreaks. They鈥檇 already announced it at the school.鈥�
He was living on a farm with a friend and his friend鈥檚 grandmother at the time, and after coming back from 91大黄鸭 on Thanksgiving, he went back to work just one day, before getting too sick.
He died in a bathroom on the farm on Oct. 12 last year.
鈥淲e think 鈥� it was in his brain because he was almost to the point 鈥� delirious, going blind and thrashing around and he couldn鈥檛 get to the door to unlock the door,鈥� Lesley said.
By the time paramedics got to the farm, Aidan had died.
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Aidan鈥檚 parents said they were unable to see their son for two days after his death.
| Aidan Pratt with his father, Lee Pratt, who said he had taken his son on as an employee in his contract work shortly before his son's death.Submitted photo |
An interview request with IH chief medical officer Trevor Corneil went unanswered. In a media scrum last Friday, IH CEO Chris Mazurkewich declined to comment on whether the health authority should have provided better notice to the community until 鈥渁ll the evidence is in front of us,鈥� which he said would still be a few weeks.
Aidan had just arrived back in Oliver from working up north, and when he returned he made the rounds with friends from around the Okanagan and Similkameen.
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鈥淗undreds of people he had been in contact with while he was communicable,鈥� Lesley said. 鈥淥ur son went to the hospital, then the doctor on the 27th, then he was dead 15 days later.鈥�
鈥淲hen they knew there was an outbreak,鈥� Lee added.
Even if it was the GI bleed that killed Lee, his parents said the meningitis was so severe he would have suffered serious complications, which can include gangrene, partial or total hearing or eyesight loss and brain damage.
| Aidan Pratt died just 15 days after a visit with a doctor in Oliver. His parents say the young man told the doctor of his contact with a meningococcal patient but was never tested for an infection.Submitted photo |
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard because our personal triumph with Aidan. He wasn鈥檛 breathing at birth,鈥� Lesley said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 fit into the school system because the school system wasn鈥檛 set up for kids that are made like Aidan, because Aidan was special. He was with his dad, working with his dad, succeeding in his own way, in the way that he knew how to succeed.鈥�
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鈥淲e did everything we could in his short life so he鈥檇 have a life,鈥� Lee added, noting Aidan had mild Asperger syndrome and behavioural issues.
After the family threw a celebration of life for Aidan on Oct. 21, which they said was attended by about 200, Lee said he got a call from Corneil to say Aidan tested positive for meningococcal infection and that there was a carrier in the group.
Because Interior Health鈥檚 own investigation into the issue has not been completed, and because no cause of death has yet been determined, Aidan鈥檚 parents said they feel like they鈥檝e been left hanging dry for months since his death.
If the family wanted to sue their physician, they said they would be outgunned by lawyers, with the backing of the Canadian Medical Protective Association. According to the CMPA website, members are eligible for assistance 鈥渋n the form of legal representation, and payment of legal costs, judgments, or settlements to compensate patients when it is determined they were harmed by negligent care.鈥�
鈥淎s a contractor, if myself or any of my employees break, destroy, mess up something on a job site, I鈥檓 accountable and responsible to fix that. Not lawyer up and hide,鈥� Lee said.
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Mazurkewich told reporters last week there was oversight from Interior Health, as well as from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. The latter group does take complaints from the public regarding physicians, according to its website.
The college, which a spokesperson said in an email takes about 1,000 complaints a year, relays complaints to physicians, who can send a response, and then the complainant is given another opportunity to respond before an investigation is opened.
Among the outcomes, if the college is critical of the physician, the college may speak with the physician about the issue and where he or she erred, provide help to improve their practice, provide a warning or take disciplinary actions.
Disciplinary actions were not elaborated on by the spokesperson or the website.
But the family said they want to see the legal protection afforded by the CMPA changed.
鈥淚n a generation, our names will be forgotten. In a generation, our son鈥檚 name will be forgotten,鈥� Lesley said.
Lee said he wants to make sure that doesn鈥檛 happen.
鈥�(How do we) change legislation, change laws so that my son鈥檚 name gets written in law so that he鈥檚 never forgotten?鈥�
dustin.godfrey@pentictonwesternnews.com
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