The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 2,2003-A3 ° | Vicki’s family still waits Girl’s 2002 death remains a mystery By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN ONE YEAR after her four-year-old daughter Vicki died, Marlene McLean can still remember every detail of the days leading up to her daughter's death. She can remember dates, times, names of doctors: and nurses that saw her daughter, She remembers making at least two visits to a clinic prior to the 2002 Canada Day long week- end, four trips to the Mills Mem- orial Hospital emergency room (ER) and at least six phone calls to ER looking for help for her Vicki, So it’s hard for her to under- stand why nobody can tell her ex- actly why Vicki died.» She passed away July t, 2002 after battling flu symptoms in- cluding a persistent high fever, lethargy, stiff neck and back, sei- zures and hallucinations. Initial autopsy results. indicated Vicki died of viral encephalitis which results in swelling of the brain, But a more detailed autopsy report dated January 29, 2003 shows Vicki died of systemic in- fection but the definitive cause of the infection is unclear. The report, compiléd by fore- nsic pathologist Dr, Jennifer Rice, shows the little girl most likely died of Yersinia — a rare bacteria which can cause a range of reac- tions from diarrhea and fever to systemic failure. Tests to confirm - the diagnosis were not conclusive. “She had Yersinia but they couldn’t really pinpoint it, how she got it or where,” says Mc- Lean, “Still nobody really knows what happened.” Questions that emerged in the days following Vicki's mysterious death still linger a year later. Mc- - Lean has never been given any reason why her daughter was tured away from Mills Memorial the first time she brought Vicki in June 29, She and Vicki arrived at 6 a.m and were told by the nurse to go home and come. back after-8:a.m.- when a doctor would be there. Northern Health Authority ad- ministrator Cholly Boland says he won't comment on Vicki's case (Interior) * Complete Shampoo e Door Jams Are Pressure Washed & Treated « All Stains Are Removed & A Dressing Is Applied ¢ All Vents Are Cleaned & Deodorized ¢ Windows Are Cleaned * Trunk Compartment Is Dismantled & Cleaned « Removal Of Stickers hip'Repa e Exterior Cut Wax & Polish * Polish All Chrome & Aluminum Of Headliner, Carpets & Seats MARLENE McLean holds up a photo of her daughter Vicki just days after the toddler passed away last year. McLean says she still doesn’t understand why her daughter died. FILE PHOTO until the coroner’s inquiry is done. Local coroner Art Erasmus says he should have that report finished this week. It must be reviewed by © his superiors and releasing it could take months. On June 6, 2003 McLean, her husband George, her mother and and her aunt Marge Quock met with Erasmus and the coroners service’s medical investigator. “The medical investigator is asked to check on procedures of the hospital, the sequence of events, interview the staff that medical investigator's findings until he signs off on his inquiry into the death. “The question I address is the ‘fact that she wasn't admitted, did it contribute to the cause of death?” he says in adding he will include his thoughts on that ques- tion in his final report. McLean also says she still can’t understand why none of the doctors who saw. her daughter did any tests until the third emer- gency room visit, Vicki was given a urine test, “I said people go to the hospital because they don't know what's wrong and they can do tests to find out what’s wrong with somebody ~ that’s why you go fo the hospital.” — was involyed: at the hospital, compare standards of care at- the hospital to standards set up by the B.C. Registered Nurses Associa- tion in order to determine all the facts pertaining to this patient having been admitted and treated,” Erasmus explains. But McLean maintains by the time Vicki was admitted in the “early hours of July 1 — her fourth visit ta the emergency room in three days — it was too late. Erasmus won’t comment on the . em A “T said people go to the hospi- tal because they don’t know what's wrong and they can do tests to find out what's wrong with somebody ~ that’s why you go to the hospital,” McLean said of a talk she had with Erasmus. If Yersinia was the cause of Vicki's death, it may not have been. caught because it is so rare, it is not-the subject of routine tests. “They did say that there was an infection that couldn’t have been seen unless an autopsy was done,” says Marlene’s aunt, Marge Quock. “That there was no way they could have seen it dur- ing that period.” Cholly Boland offered to meet with the family after Vicki died but the family has yet to agree to a meeting. “What we were waiting for was this (medical investigator’s) report because they kept teiling us it would be ready,” says Quock. “We didn’t want to meet with the administrators without anything in front of us.” The medical invest- igators report was supposed to be sent to Quock soon after the June 6 meeting, but she says she has not received it yet. Reminders of Vicki are every- where in the McLean home. Photos of her chubby, smiling face with sparkling brown eyes hang on walls and are displayed in frames in the family’s living room. Vicki's death has been especi- ally hard on the McLeans and | their extended family because she was aa girl. “It’s hard for Marlene and it’s hard for her daughter Roxanne and it’s hard to our, house because Victoria was a. girl,’ ” Quock Says, “For our house group we losta very important person — the women are the backbone of the house.” News In Brief Tourists welcome THE TERRACE and District Chamber of Com- merce’s tourist information centre at its log build- ing on Hwy16 has opened for the season with ex- tended hours. Two pecple have been hired to staff the office seven days a week from 8:30 a.m, to 6:30 p.m, each day. Kathy Arbuah, a commerce student, and Andrea Davis, a nursing student, were information centre employees last year. The centre provides recreation, accommodation and other information fer tourists and locals. Shut off your engines THE TERRACE RCMP detachment is reminding local residents to turn off their vehicle engines and lack vehicle doors after an recent car theft. Police say a dark skinned man with thick, wavy, shoulder length hair tried to make off with a woman’s car which was left running on the 5100 block of Medeek Ave. The woman left her vehicle running outside her home while she ran inside. The man got inside the vehicle and started backing it out of the driveway when the woman ran outside and yelled at him, police said, The man, who is described as slightly over weight and standing between five-faot-10-inches and six feet tall, fled from the scene. Terrace RCMP did locate a suspect while pa- trolling the neighbourhood but the suspect was re- leased with no charges being laid. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Terrace RCMP at 638-7400. Nisga’a in North Van SHOPPERS in North Vancouver will be able to sample barbecue salmon fresh from the Nass River Saturday. On July 5, Nisga’a fisheries officials host a Nass Valley salmon festival at Lonsdale Quay, a popu- lar market located on the waterfront that features fresh produce of every description and numerous boutiques. Four Vancouver area restaurants have been invi- ted to participate in a salmon cook off. The event, how in its second year, is designed to promote wild sockeye salmon from the Nass Valley. “We're doing what we can to promote Nass River resources,” explained Harry Nyce Sr., a Nisga’a leader who chairs the Kitimat Stikine Re- gional District board. Shaw Cable TV and CKNW radio station are hosting the barbecue. Proceeds go to charity, Nyce said, ~ July 5 is also a big day in Gitwinksihlkw, where the village welcomes participants in the first an- nual Nass Valley salmon festival. The Lions Club in Gitwinksihlkw is hosting the day-long event, which features a barbecue, a sal- “mon cook off, and many other events, including an , intruiging-souhding game called Nisga’a Fear Fac- ° tor. oe were SEE ENTRY FOR FOR CONTEST ULE