Pura Scents recalling more than 850,000 diffuser covers as magnet issue may cause ingestion hazard

Man sues WRHA, doctors after wrong leg amputated at Grace Hospital in 2024

A man whose left leg was mistakenly amputated — rather than his infected lower right leg — at the Grace Hospital in 2024 has filed a lawsuit against the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and two doctors involved in his care.

Jason Kennedy, who lives in Winnipeg and is a member of Bloodvein First Nation, filed his statement of claim in Court of King’s Bench last week, naming the WRHA and orthopedic surgeons Dr. David John Dillon and Dr. Yiyang Zhang as defendants.

He accuses the health authority and doctors of negligence and breach of duty, among other allegations.

Kennedy was 48 when he went to Seven Oaks General Hospital on Oct. 22, 2024, with pain and an infection in his right foot.

Community rallies around family devastated by fire

Dennis Lafreniere and his wife didn’t expect to celebrate 27 years of marriage Thursday in a Selkirk hotel room while reeling from a recent house fire.

The couple and their two daughters lost their home last Sunday in a raging fire that left nothing behind, but overwhelming support from multiple communities has kept them afloat.

“It’s devastating when you don’t have any clothes, any medication, all of that stuff, and it’s just so overwhelming the next morning. It’s just nasty,” Lafreniere said.

Investigators suspect the fire was caused by a fridge, freezer and battery charger that were all plugged into the same electrical line that got overheated. The house, located on Highway 59 between Selkirk and Libau, is a farmhouse built in 1943, and investigators think worn-out electrical lines also contributed to the fire, said Lafreniere.

Woman pleads guilty in toddler’s death

A woman who pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessaries of life after her 13-month-old son died of an drug overdose in their Sherbrook Street apartment will serve a sentence of house arrest.

Latasha Stewart, in her mid-30s, was given the conditional sentence order of two years less a day by provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald last Wednesday over the Dec. 29, 2022 death of her son Romeo.

“The circumstances in this case are truly tragic. As a result of an adult’s careless drug use, a 13-month-old boy lost his life,” said McDonald.

“It’s hard to imagine a clearer … lesson in the dangers of street-drug use in a household with young children present (than) in this case.”

Blue Bombers volunteer seriously injured in collision with e-scooter

A longtime Winnipeg Blue Bombers volunteer was rushed to hospital and now faces months of recovery after being hit by an e-scooter while directing football fans after a home game last month.

A bad trade deal in virtually all ways

You can’t fix stupid. And you can’t sign a contract — or a trade deal — with a proven liar, cheat and blackmailer. And sometimes, you end up having to fight.

Pura Scents recalling more than 850,000 diffuser covers as magnet issue may cause ingestion hazard

Pura Scents is recalling more than 850,000 diffuser covers because some magnets may detach and cause a possible ingestion hazard to children.

The company is recalling the detachable covers for about 851,400 Pura 4 Smart Home Fragrance Diffusers. It said an additional 1,100 were sold in Canada.

Pura Scents said that the magnets on the inside cover of the product can detach, posing an ingestion hazard to children. When high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract each other, or other metal objects, and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death.

The company has received three reports of magnets detaching from the cover. No injuries have been reported.