First Day Outside
This picture was taken outside of the hospital. It was the first time Annie was outside. We were all so happy.
My Big Sister
This is one of our favourite pictures taken of Annie and her big sister. The film was in a camera that we seldom use and months after Annie died, we realized that we had not developed the few pictures that were in it.
I mailed the picture to Laura for a surprise while she was at University. She loved it and it hung in a prominent place in her room all through university.
I mailed the picture to Laura for a surprise while she was at University. She loved it and it hung in a prominent place in her room all through university.
Hospital Apology Letter
Apology letter from the Executive Office at the Hospital for Sick Children.
The highlighted region reads:
We do acknowledge we could have improved upon the ongoing communication between yourselves and the staff who cared for Annie. Sometimes when we care for children such as Annie who have very complex needs, and there are many individuals involved and consulted, communication does not occur in as clear and consistent a fashion as we would wish. For that, we are truly sorry.
We believe that mistakes can be made. An apology with sincere and effective actions to prevent recurrence was all that we wanted.
Apologizing for "communication" , given the circumstances, was just not enough. The Hospital then created a set of plans. We asked, "why do you need plans when the policies are perfect? The issue is about implementing policies and holding staff accountable".
Nobody seemed nearly as concerned as we were about the missing narcotics, missing records and the fact that nobody called the ICU for over an hour when Annie had a respiratory crash.
We said we would "sign anything" to speak to the doctors and do a short presentation for the Board of Trustees. We hoped that by doing this, we might encourage the Board of the need to divert a greater allocation of funds toward education of patient centred care.
The doctors refused to meet with us. The President agreed to let us do the presentation, but later refused to put the promise in writing when the 2 year statute of limitations drew near. We were very sad and disappointed.
About six months later, we obtained the documents that revealed the lethal quantities of narcotics that were removed without authorization. The final records are missing but the final assessment one hour before death shows an oxygen saturation rate of 97% and good perfusion. The blood work was stable.
The Coroner refuses to say whether or not he has the official final medication administration record. He also refuses to say whether or not Annie received Fentanyl, which is one of the narcotics that was removed.
The highlighted region reads:
We do acknowledge we could have improved upon the ongoing communication between yourselves and the staff who cared for Annie. Sometimes when we care for children such as Annie who have very complex needs, and there are many individuals involved and consulted, communication does not occur in as clear and consistent a fashion as we would wish. For that, we are truly sorry.
We believe that mistakes can be made. An apology with sincere and effective actions to prevent recurrence was all that we wanted.
Apologizing for "communication" , given the circumstances, was just not enough. The Hospital then created a set of plans. We asked, "why do you need plans when the policies are perfect? The issue is about implementing policies and holding staff accountable".
Nobody seemed nearly as concerned as we were about the missing narcotics, missing records and the fact that nobody called the ICU for over an hour when Annie had a respiratory crash.
We said we would "sign anything" to speak to the doctors and do a short presentation for the Board of Trustees. We hoped that by doing this, we might encourage the Board of the need to divert a greater allocation of funds toward education of patient centred care.
The doctors refused to meet with us. The President agreed to let us do the presentation, but later refused to put the promise in writing when the 2 year statute of limitations drew near. We were very sad and disappointed.
About six months later, we obtained the documents that revealed the lethal quantities of narcotics that were removed without authorization. The final records are missing but the final assessment one hour before death shows an oxygen saturation rate of 97% and good perfusion. The blood work was stable.
The Coroner refuses to say whether or not he has the official final medication administration record. He also refuses to say whether or not Annie received Fentanyl, which is one of the narcotics that was removed.
Page From Annie's Scrapbook
This is a picture from Annie's scrap book made by her big sister Laura. It is one of our favourite memories. Annie and her brothers and dad went for a walk and out of nowhere there was a sudden downpour.
Another favourite memory was taking Annie outside on a hot, clear night and looking at the stars together.
Another favourite memory was taking Annie outside on a hot, clear night and looking at the stars together.