LETHBRIDGE, Alberta — A paramedic testified in a trial Monday for the parents of a toddler who died of meningitis in 2012 after he quit breathing at home.
GlobalNews.ca reported the parents, David and Collet Stephan, were charged with failing to provide the necessities of life for their 18-month-old son Ezekiel after they attempted to treat him with natural remedies including water with maple syrup and smoothies with berries and ginger root.
Paramedic Kenneth Cherniawsky met David and Collet on the side of the highway on their way to the hospital and testified that it appeared Collet had been giving Ezekiel CPR when he arrived.
Cherniawsky said when he brought Ezekiel into the ambulance he was not moving and had no heartbeat.
When Alberta Health Services took over the ambulance service about a year before the incident, pediatric bag valve masks for smaller children had been removed from the ambulance. Because Cherniawsky did not have a bag that would fit Ezekiel, he put in an endotracheal tube.
The tube was also not the right size, but it was successful at moving air into Ezekiel. Despite the tube, Cherniawsky said Ezekiel’s condition did not change.
During cross-examination, Cherniawsky told the court the only pediatric bag valve his ambulance had on board was standard for an eight to 10-year-old. He said he had asked that the masks be put back on the ambulances, but his request was never filled.
Cherniawski told the court he had done everything he could to help Ezekiel according to his protocols.