Tuesday was the second day of the coroner’s inquest into the death of Brandon Schafer-Kovacs.
It was a particularly tense day, with a quiet heaviness looming over the room. On Tuesday, we learned a bit more about Brandon and the care he received when he arrived at the Jim Pattison’s Children Hospital on the morning of Friday, Nov. 25th, 2022.
Brandon was described as a funny and mischievous teen who required a lot of supervision, noting that he often asked to go to the doctor for minor incidents on almost a daily basis.
Marie Digby, a case worker at Eagles Nest testified that on occasion, Brandon would make himself vomit so he could say he wasn’t feeling well. Due to this, several staff pushed aside the idea that Brandon really needed medical care.
When they eventually realized Brandon was sick, they figured it was the same flu going around the house through other children and staff shared Ryan Welsh, the program manager back in 2022. Welsh testified that he was never asked by Brandon to be taken to the hospital and if a staff felt so inclined they could have taken him to the hospital at any time.
Welsh admitted Tuesday that he had only been the program manager for two weeks before Brandon’s death, adding that he did not receive much training and was thrusted into the role very quickly.
Since the incident, Welsh is no longer the program manager and is back to being a youth care worker for Eagles Nest.
Backing up Monday’s testimonies was youth care worker Valentina Perrin, who flagged Welsh on Thursday that she had a bad feeling about Brandon and mentioned he go to the hospital. In response, Welsh said to let the boy sleep, and they would take him to urgent care in the morning.
On Tuesday, in an emotional and tearful testimony, case worker Digby recalled the events of Friday morning. Digby shared that her job was to help take the children to appointments, keep them updated on their vaccinations and book any appointments that may be needed for the child. When she went to go check in on Brandon Friday, she found him disoriented and unable to speak.
She carried Brandon downstairs herself, and Ryan rushed to the Royal University Hospital. Digby could not recall how long it took to get Brandon to the hospital, adding she spent the whole time trying to keep Brandon awake as he slipped in and out of consciousness.
Digby stayed with Brandon for hours until another worker from Eagles Nest came to relieve her as they did not want Brandon to be alone. During her stay, Digby contacted Brandon’s mother, Chantelle Schafer, as well as the Ministry of Social Services.
Adam Day, an employee of the Minister of Social Services, shared that he did not know Brandon was sick until Friday, Nov. 25th, the day he arrived at the hospital. Day testified, saying if Brandon’s situation would have been flagged, social services would have taken the boy to the hospital.
Meghan Gardner was the doctor who first saw Brandon when he was sent to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). She described that Brandon was in shock due to sepsis, had laboured breathing and his tissues and lungs were not receiving enough oxygen.
Dr. Gardner intubated the boy only three hours after he arrived. In her testimony, Dr. Gardner described his treatment as “he got the whole basket of everything”.
She proceeded to describe what the few days looked like for Brandon.
Brandon was put in soft restraints because he had become agitated, something Dr. Gardner said was common when suffering from a lack of oxygen. They then had an arterial line to monitor his blood pressure, as well as a central venous catheter. They did an ultrasound on his lungs and an X-ray of his abdomen and chest, adding that Brandon was not stable enough to perform a CT scan on his chest.
They gave Brandon IV fluids and began a plasma exchange through a large IV in the neck. They then started dialysis and did a special assessment of his lungs to guide ventilation.
Brandon’s heart began to fail, so Dr. Gardner performed a cardiac echo and gave Brandon extra blood and platelets. Brandon went into atrial fibrillation and had to receive three shocks to get him back into normal rhythm.
Finally, they gave Brandon three different medications to support his blood pressure.
Over the next few days, Brandon never became stable. When Dr. Gardner ended her shift Monday morning, she testified that Brandon was in critical condition. She said that if anyone worried that an illness is not keeping up with “viral standards,” then it is time to bring that sick patient to the hospital, admitting that when Brandon came in, he had obvious laboured breathing.
When asked if someone needed medical training to notice if someone was struggling to breathe, Dr. Gardner responded, saying an untrained person would have been able to tell.
On Friday, Dr. Gregory Hansen took care of Brandon during his final hours testifying that by mid-afternoon Friday, Brandon took a turn for the worst. Brandon died while still on life support 7:31 p.m. in the PICU after an agonizing weekend fighting for his life.
Testimony is expected to wrap up Wednesday, with the jury in the inquest being charged by the coroner. The jury can then deliberate on what contributed to Brandon’s death and make public recommendations for policy changes and future action plans.