inspiring canadians to live better.

healthing leaf

inspiring canadians to live better.

healthing leaf
get healthing in your inbox with the morning checkup and weekender newsletter!
home / 世界杯决赛2022

windsor toddler nearly dies in midst of mysterious spike in rsv cases

the attack on kimberly lucier’s little body was swift. ...

by trevor wilhelm

dec 17 2021
read time 5 minute read
join the conversation
melyssa tootill is shown with her daughter kimberly lucier at their windsor home on thursday, december 16, 2021. the two-year-old who was infected with respiratory syncytial virus ended up on life support in michigan for several weeks. dan janisse / windsor star
the attack on kimberly lucier’s little body was swift.
in days, the two-year-old windsor girl went from a runny nose at home to life support in a michigan hospital.
she is among a growing number of children who have fallen victim this year to rsv, a common and highly contagious respiratory virus that has inexplicably spiked while the world focuses on covid-19.
with time running out and a transfer to michigan moments away, kimberly’s parents faced the “devastating” dilemma of signing over authority for medical decisions in case they couldn’t cross the border.
“even having all the experience and knowledge i do, when it’s your child, you’re helpless,” said melyssa tootill, a nurse. “there’s nothing you can do to jump in and help. you’ve just got to stand there and watch it unfold. then finding out someone is going to take your child without you and make the decisions for her, that’s really scary. knowing you can’t be there to do the one thing you’re supposed to do, which is comfort them.”
since october, windsor regional hospital has transferred 11 children suffering from respiratory syncytial virus (rsv) out of the city for higher levels of care. nine children went to london. two went to detroit.
powered by
canadian centre for caregiving excellence

advertisement

last year, the hospital transferred three children with rsv.
the windsor-essex county health unit did not answer questions thursday about the number of infections in the region or whether it even tracks rsv cases. tootill said the health unit told her it does not track the virus.
covid-19 protocols might have done double duty in keeping rsv infections down last year. but that still doesn’t explain the unusually large increase this year, said dr. wassim saad, windsor regional hospital’s chief of staff.
“we are definitely seeing more cases of rsv this season,” he said. “even pre-covid, our numbers never reached 11 that we would have to send out of windsor for a higher level of care. there is season-to-season variation, but there is a big difference from last year, and it is the highest in the recent past in terms of sending people outside of windsor.”
anyone can be vulnerable to the virus, often dismissed as a common cold. but children under the age of two, and those born prematurely or who have chronic heart or lung conditions face the biggest risk of serious infections.
“in the vast majority it’s very mild symptoms like a runny nose,” said saad. “but it’s those rare cases where it causes severe illness that we worry about it.”
powered by
obesity matters

advertisement

kimberly lucier is shown at her windsor home on thursday, december 16, 2021. the two-year-old who was infected with respiratory syncytial virus ended up on life support in michigan for several weeks.
kimberly lucier is shown at her windsor home on thursday, december 16, 2021. the two-year-old who was infected with respiratory syncytial virus ended up on life support in michigan for several weeks. dan janisse / the windsor star
kimberly lucier’s runny nose started on a saturday in november. by monday, there was a stubborn cough and she had trouble breathing. tootill took kimberly to a clinic and was told she had bronchitis. they were sent home with antibiotics and a steroid.
“by wednesday, she seemed like she was doing a lot worse,” she said.
tootill and her husband, mark lucier, put her daughter in the car and headed for windsor regional hospital’s emergency department.
“we live two blocks from windsor regional,” she said. “by the time we got there and got her out of the car, she was in respiratory distress. she was having difficulty catching her breath.”
hospital tests confirmed rsv.
“there is no specific treatment for rsv,” said saad, who did not directly discuss kimberly’s situation. “but often times if it gets severe enough, particularly in children who are at risk for severe rsv infections, they end up requiring a ventilator and a breathing tube. because most of the other treatments are oxygen, humidified air and time to allow the child to get over the illness on their own.”
the hospital exhausted every other option, but kimberly needed to be intubated. that meant sending her out of windsor.
“we have a limited number of resources when it comes to breathing machines for that age group,” said saad. “so because of our limited resources we have to transfer patients out to accommodate new incoming patients that we can look after. and of course there are other reasons why neonates and other children may need a breathing tube other than rsv, and we have to make sure we have those resources available if they need them.”

advertisement

they called children’s hospital in london. it was full.
kimberly lucier is shown at her windsor home on thursday, december 16, 2021. the two-year-old who was infected with respiratory syncytial virus ended up on life support in michigan for several weeks.
kimberly lucier is shown at her windsor home on thursday, december 16, 2021. the two-year-old who was infected with respiratory syncytial virus ended up on life support in michigan for several weeks. dan janisse / the windsor star
the next call was to detroit. a panda one (pediatric and neonatal dedicated ambulance) team from children’s hospital of michigan arrived 10 minutes later.
the panda team made some calls to ensure tootill and her husband, who didn’t have passports, could follow them over. but just in case, the worried parents signed documents giving the team authority to make medical decisions for kimberly.
luckily, there were no hiccups and the couple arrived in michigan shortly after their daughter.
“as soon as we were transferred to michigan, we started hearing about cases of rsv rampant through windsor, other children ending up in icu and being transferred out of the city,” said tootill.
kimberly spent two weeks on life support in michigan followed by another week going through drug withdrawals. after that, she spent a few more days back at windsor regional hospital.
“her little body has been through a lot,” said tootill. “she was on a ventilator, and catheterization and she had to be restrained against her will to prevent her from pulling it out. she was on several drugs she’s obviously never experienced before. large doses of fentanyl, ketamine, morphine.”

advertisement

kimberly has recovered physically, but the emotional trauma persists.
“she’s really struggled emotionally,” said tootill. “she’s having emotional outbursts. she has difficulty being around people besides me and my husband. even taking her to daycare today, she was clinging to me and trying to hide behind me.”
surprised by how unaware many people seem to be about the pervasive virus, tootill reached out to the health unit after her daughter’s recovery. she said she was disappointed to learn the organization does not track the virus or have a public awareness campaign.
“it’s really upsetting that this is something they can’t keep tabs on when they keep tabs on coronavirus and flu outbreaks,” she said. “this can be deadly for children and it spreads as easily as the common cold.”
twilhelm@postmedia.com
trevor wilhelm
trevor wilhelm

trevor wilhelm is an award-winning multimedia journalist. he has been a reporter for more than two decades, living and working in locales ranging from winnipeg to hong kong. wilhelm has been a member of the windsor star team, chronicling the triumphs and tragedies of his adopted hometown, since 2006. his coverage has ranged from the police beat to provincial politics. for the last several years, he has focused on lengthier investigations, freedom of information probes, and in-depth feature writing. his work has highlighted social issues, exposed hidden information, and changed government policy.

read more about the author

comments

postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. we ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. we have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. visit our community guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.