Father of Alberta child who died of meningitis grilled by prosecution
原始发布日期： 2016-04-12 发布者：李方字变大 字变小
David Stephan told court Ezekiel seemed to be getting better up to the night he stopped breathing
David and Collet Stephan arrive at the Lethbridge courthouse on Monday. He will be cross-examined by Crown counsel on Tuesday. (Erin Collins/CBC) The Crown grilled a father who used naturopathic remedies to treat his toddler son before he died from bacterial meningitis four years ago. The court also released exhibits to CBC News, including the autopsy report and physician report on the child's death, which are embedded at the bottom of this article. A redacted report from Child and Family Services was not legible and is not included. Weeks of illnessDavid Stephan, who is 32, and his wife Collet, who is 35, are charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life for their nearly 19-month-old son Ezekiel in March 2012.Court has already heard that the parents gave the boy, who had been sick for about 2 1/2 weeks, natural remedies and homemade smoothies containing hot pepper, ginger root, horseradish and onion. He eventually stopped breathing and was rushed to hospital in Calgary where he later died. Crown prosecutor Clayton Giles suggested Ezekiel had never fully recovered from what his parents thought was croup despite the natural remedies he had received. He questioned Stephan's early testimony that his children were never "laid up" as a result of illness due to the healthy regimen they were following. 
David Stephan, 32, and his wife Collet Stephan, 35, have pleaded not guilty to failing to provide the necessaries of life for 19-month-old Ezekiel, who died in March 2012. (Facebook) Said he was improvingDavid Stephan was the first defence witness called in the trial for the couple, formerly of Glenwood, Alta. The couple now resides in Nelson, B.C.He told the jury on Monday that the nearly 19-month-old boy appeared to get better at times, even right up until the night he stopped breathing and had to be rushed to hospital. Stephan said there was nothing to indicate Ezekiel had anything worse than the croup or the flu so he and his wife didn't seek medical attention. Stephan said Ezekiel seemed to be improving right up until the day he was rushed to hospital. "He had a good sleep that night. The next morning he was getting better. His energy level was better," said Stephan. "The symptoms had subsided. Everything was absolutely looking up. There was nothing that would have said, hey, in three hours you're going to have an urgent situation." But later that evening the boy's breathing pattern began to change and then he stopped breathing altogether. Less than one per cent chance of survivalAfter being taken to hospital in Cardston, Alta., Ezekiel was rushed to a Calgary hospital where he died a week later from bacterial meningitis and a lung infection.The Crown contends the couple didn't do enough to ensure the toddler had proper access to medical care before he became seriously ill. In earlier testimony, a pediatrician said Ezekiel had less than a one per cent chance of surviving by the time he was rushed to hospital. Dr. Shauna Burkholder, who works at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, said medical staff at the smaller hospital near their home were able to revive Ezekiel, but it's likely he was already brain dead at that point. The jury has already heard that a friend who was a nurse told the Stephans their boy might have viral meningitis and advised them to take him to a doctor. With files from CBC News The Canadian Press, 2016  |
