Five years ago this week, Mabel and C.K. Chan received the phone call that would change their life.
The Coquitlam couple’s son Leo, a student at the University of Victoria, said he had become violently ill, was phoning 911 and heading to the hospital.
“That was the last time I talked to my son,” Mabel said.
At first, everyone — including doctors — assumed Leo was suffering from a severe flu. He was given painkillers after a trip to the clinic that afternoon but by the time he phoned his parents at 9:30 p.m., his condition had worsened dramatically.
What nobody realized was that Leo had actually come down with a rare form of meningitis — the Y strain — which is found in people between the age of 15 and 25.
By the time Mabel and C.K. arrived at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria the next day, Leo had slipped into a coma. Within a few days he had died.
“I don’t know how I survived those days and nights,” Mabel told The Tri-City News. “We never left the hospital. We were constantly massaging his feet and hands. He was frozen cold.
“I am glad we stayed. I am sure he knew.”
Leo, a Pinetree secondary graduate, was a musician and strong academic student who was studying political science at the time of his death. He planned to earn a degree, then attend law school at UBC, with a focus on human rights.
Mabel and C.K. are still grieving their loss and said for the first year, it was difficult to even take care of the little things in their lives.
But their anguish slowly turned to resolve, and the family has become dogged in its determination to ensure every parent is aware of the vaccines that are available for their children.
In the last six months, their efforts have seen some success.
In April, the provincial government announced it was introducing a quadrivalent vaccine to all Grade 9 students that would cover not only meningococcal C (Men-C) strain, but also the A and W strain, and the Y strain that took Leo’s life.
According to the B.C. Ministry of Health, meningitis can cause brain damage and deafness, and it kills 15 of every 100 children who become infected.
“Meningococcal disease is a severe bacterial infection and can be life-threatening,” said Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.’s provincial health officer, at the time of the announcement. “Providing the quadrivalent booster in Grade 9 gives adolescents the best protection as they enter the peak years outside of infancy for contracting meningococcal disease, which are between 15 and 24 years of age.”
For the Chan family, the announcement is bittersweet.
Mabel said while she is happy the government is making changes, she wishes the quadrivalent vaccine program had been implemented sooner. “I don’t want any parent to have to go through this,” she said.
Mabel and C.K. are now focusing their efforts on raising awareness for the thousands of children in Grade 10 and older — many of whom, like Leo, are heading off to university or college — and encouraging them to purchase the vaccination.
They have spoken to any group or organization that is willing to listen and have helped promote a video produced by Leo’s friend Michael McDonald that tells Leo’s story. The video, which includes many photographs, can be found on YouTube by searching “I Lost My Friend to Meningitis.”
“He would want us to advocate so that everybody has the right to know,” Mabel said. “I think that is paramount.”
• For more information about meningitis and the provincial vaccination program go to www.immunizebc.ca.
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
@gmckennaTC
