Tragedies compounding pandemic

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Lorraine Wilson’s family says her symptoms were first mistaken as a common cold. (FAMILY HANDOUT)

WINNIPEG — A Manitoba woman who died of H1N1 complications was twice turned away by hospital staff who didn't diagnose the virus, said her brother.

Lorraine Wilson, 45, lived in the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, 730 kilometres north from Winnipeg, and worked at the local school library.

She complained of chest pains and laboured breathing two weeks ago, and went to a local hospital in The Pas on June 3, said her brother, Guy Constant.

They told her she had a cold and sent her home, but she returned two days later. She was then told to take Tylenol and sent home again, her brother said.

"They didn't check her, they didn't test her, they didn't do anything," Constant said as he choked up during a phone interview.

As her symptoms worsened, she returned to the hospital for a third time and was put on a ventilator.

"That time they told us the symptoms of the influenza," Constant said, adding her doctors began to run tests.

Officials from Nor-Man Regional Health Authority -- which includes The Pas -- could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Manitoba reported 34 new confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza on Wednesday, bringing the total to 260 -- nearly half of which are in Winnipeg. Two people in Manitoba with H1N1 have died -- Wilson, and a middle-aged Winnipeg man.

Wilson's illness was not confirmed to be H1N1 until she was transferred to Winnipeg on Sunday, June 7, by air ambulance. Constant said his sister remained in a near-catatonic state for a week and a half before she died Tuesday, June 16.

Constant, her husband, Archie, and 23-year-old daughter, April, were among family members who flew to Winnipeg to be with her.

Wilson was also diagnosed with pneumonia, which Constant said was a complication of her H1N1 infection, and her lungs began to fill up with liquid.

She had a final responsive moment a week before her death, said her brother.

"For a brief few minutes, she was able to respond," Constant said. "My sister nodded her head, she wiggled her toes." Wilson's condition continued to worsen as her kidneys began to fail, and the doctors informed the remaining family they may need to decide whether to remove her from life support.

His sister died Tuesday from a heart attack, before Wilson's family were forced to make the difficult decision.

"The Good Lord just made that decision for her," he said.

Wilson's family gathered Wednesday evening at her home to share stories.

"My sister was very friendly, outgoing. She was just always helping out," Constant said. "She would just reach out and help you any way she could. She had a very big heart."

Wilson was one of 21 confirmed H1N1 patients in the Nor-Man health region, an area that includes The Pas, Flin Flon and Snow Lake.

In a news release Wednesday, the province said "all Manitobans" are at risk of exposure to the virus.

"The influenza outbreak is provincewide and it is likely that H1N1 is present in every community in Manitoba," the government said.

It said although there has been an increase in the number of people with severe respiratory illness, they make up a small proportion of the people who have had the flu in Manitoba over the past two months.

The majority of people who have become ill have not required hospitalization, the government said.

Meanwhile, Manitoba Public Insurance spokesman Brian Smiley said two employees working in one of MPI's Winnipeg facilities have confirmed cases of H1N1.

Smiley said the two have very mild cases of the virus, and other employees have been notified. Staff have also been encouraged to see a doctor if they're feeling unwell, and stay home from work.

The provincial Health Department Wednesday provided a breakdown, by regional health authority, of all confirmed cases.

Winnipeg has had 122 people test positive for the H1N1 flu virus over the past two months.

Another 80 cases have been confirmed in the Burntwood and Churchill regional health authorities, the government said.

Burntwood's territory covers 210,000 square miles north of the 53rd parallel, including the city of Thompson but excluding Flin Flon, The Pas, and Churchill. It also includes Garden Hill, St. Theresa Point and several other northern First Nations as well as the towns of Leaf Rapids, Lynn Lake and Gillam.

arielle.godbout@freepress.mb.ca larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 18, 2009 A5