Mabel and CK Chan lost their son, Leo, to a rare strain of meningitis last winter. The couple is currently working to raise awareness about the importance of getting young people inoculated for all strains of the disease and is lobbying the provincial government to make changes to its immunization program.
Mabel and CK Chan still talk about their son in the present tense.
Even though he died seven months ago after coming down with a rare form of meningitis, the parents say they can still feel Leo's presence everywhere they go.
"The loss is forever," said CK, while sitting in the cafeteria of the Glen Pine Pavilion, where he is a volunteer. "The grieving process is just unfolding for us."
Leo was an accomplished musician and academic while he attended Pinetree secondary school. When he got sick, he was working on a degree in political science at the University of Victoria.
He had planned to attend law school at the University of British Columbia with the hopes of becoming a human rights lawyer.
"He's a brilliant young man," Mabel said. "He could go to any school but he loves B.C. so much."
JANUARY 13
Mabel can still recall Friday, January 13, when her son called from the waiting room of a walk-in medical clinic in Victoria.
Leo said he had flu symptoms and an aching neck and was waiting to see a doctor. He received some painkillers and was sent home.
Several hours later, at around 9:30 p.m., Mabel received another call from her son, whose condition had rapidly deteriorated. He told her he was calling 911 and that he needed to go to the hospital.
"That was the last I heard from my son," she said.
The next morning the couple boarded a ferry to Victoria, hoping to get some kind of update on their son's condition. Leo had not been returning calls and both parents were extremely worried.
They went directly to his residence where some friends of Leo's informed the couple that he was in the intensive care unit at Royal Jubilee Hospital.
"I was shocked," Mabel said. "ICU? But it's just a flu?"
When the couple arrived at the hospital, they found their son in a coma on life support. He looked swollen, his colour had changed and he had tubes coming out of his mouth.
Within 24 hours, he was dead.
MENINGITIS
As it turned out, Leo did not have the flu at all.
He was suffering from a rare form of meningitis - the Y strain - often found in young people between the age of 15 and 25.
Meningitis can be particularly problematic for people residing in dormitories or other kinds of communal living. In parts of the United States and the United Kingdom, immunizations are required for all students who attend a post-secondary institution.
Eight other provinces also offer the immunizations but currently British Columbia only inoculates students for the C strain of meningitis. The shots are administered at two and 12 months and again in Grade 6 at part of the province's public immunization program.
The Chan family is hoping the province will consider revising its immunization program to include what is called Menactra, also known as MCV4, a vaccination that was approved by Health Canada in 2006 that can prevent the A, C, Y and W-135 strain.
"We are never going to get Leo back," Mabel said. "But we don't want another family to go through the same thing."
RAISING AWARENESS
The Chan family's approach is two pronged: First, they want to raise awareness and get people to seek out MCV4 vaccination, even if it means paying out of their own pocket.
Second, they plan to lobby the provincial government to make changes to the immunization program, a feat they believe has the support of both parties in Victoria.
They are also encouraging people to go to www.meningitisbc.org and sign a petition in order to help the government pass legislation that will provide MCV4 to citizens.
"We are very concerned," Mabel said. "Vaccination is the only protection."
The Chan family said they will speak to anybody willing to listen about the dangers of meningitis and the importance of getting vaccinated.
Last weekend they made a presentation in Cantonese at the Westwood Alliance Church. The couple plans on making a similar presentation in English at the church on August 18.
Raising awareness helps the couple stay busy. CK and Mabel said that when they are planning talks and working to get information to the public, they feel that they are helping others avoid the pain they have had to deal with over the last eight months.
"Saving lives is important," said CK. "When we got all the information we felt it was our mission."
Those who are interested in signing the petition can go to www.meningitisbc.org.
