Halifax family questions delay in treatment after son, 19, dies of meningitis

A Halifax-area couple whose 19-year-old son died of meningitis are left with questions about what might have happened if he'd had the right medical attention sooner.

Kai Matthews died June 1 in hospital of an infection caused by bacteria called meningococcal type B. Family members say they have no idea how he contracted it.   

"It was unbelievably, shockingly quick," his father, Norrie Matthews, said through tears in an interview Wednesday alongside his wife, Kari.

"It's incomprehensible as a parent. The pain is nothing I want anybody to go through."

Kai, who had just finished his first year studying kinesiology at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., developed a high fever and body chills on May 30.  

After calling 811 for advice a couple of times, Kai's condition worsened and his parents brought him to the emergency room that evening in Halifax.

But they couldn't wait with their son inside the building due to COVID-19 protocols, so they sat in their car in the parking lot. At one point, Kai — an athlete who played soccer and snowboarded competitively — came out to lie in the family car because his body was aching so badly, he couldn't sit in a chair.

He was eventually seen by a doctor just before midnight, when they did a COVID-19 test, blood work and discharged him. Kai was told to go home and wait for test results in the morning.

But his condition worsened hour by hour, said Matthews. The family called 911, but paramedics who arrived to check on Kai didn't note anything alarming. Matthews said the paramedics told them they couldn't bring Kai into the hospital until he had a negative COVID result.

By 6:30 a.m. AT the following day, Kai was in so much pain that he couldn't stand on his own. His parents carried him to the car and drove to the ER a second time.

"I pleaded to go in with him, to be his advocate in the triage because he was in so much pain and he was so confused," said Matthews. "But they wouldn't let me."

After a few hours, Kai was discharged a second time. When his parents got him in the car, they saw a "very scary" purple rash covering his neck and chest.

Rushed to ER 

Matthews ran back into the ER and convinced a nurse to come out and see the rash. Kai was rushed back into the hospital the moment she saw him.

An hour later, another nurse called Matthews and said he needed to come in to see Kai.

"If I was a mother of this son, I'd want to be here with him," she told him.

Doctors told the family Kai was fighting some type of infection, and he'd been placed on antibiotics. Matthews said they later found out it was meningitis.

The father was confused, telling the doctor Kai had received all his vaccinations through school and as a child. But Matthews was told the meningococcal B vaccine was not covered under Nova Scotia's vaccine programs.

The medical team did everything they could to save Kai, his dad said, including placing him in an induced coma, but he died early Tuesday, June 1.

"I'm thankful to that nurse, because if she hadn't called us in we wouldn't have had that time. Even though it was [a] traumatic time with him, we wouldn't have had time to say to him that we love him, and we're here for him," he said.

Family urges others to know the symptoms

Matthews is urging other parents to bring children with symptoms similar to Kai's to the ER and insist they are not discharged until bacterial meningitis is ruled out.

He said about 16 hours passed between the first time Kai was brought to the ER on Sunday night and noon Monday when he was given antibiotics.

"That's time that is crucial," he said.

Nova Scotia Health said it could not comment specifically on Kai's case, including why it took so long for antibiotics to be administered.

"We extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Kai. We are committed to reviewing the care Kai received and making sure any learnings are applied to future patient care," Carla Adams, a spokesperson for the health authority, said in an email.

Website, vaccination campaign launched

Matthews said the past couple of weeks have been "really dark," but the family is trying to turn grief into action.

They have launched a campaign and website, B for Kai, to share Kai's story and let people know that meningitis B can quickly turn fatal.

They were shocked to learn that Nova Scotians have to ask their primary care providers for meningococcal B vaccine and pay for it out of pocket.

The family has partnered with Acadia University to have first-year students vaccinated for type B on campus this fall in Kai's memory, in addition to hosting other events on campus so students know they need to ask for the vaccine.

They also hope to team up with Ski Wentworth for future awareness events, and with local golf courses for soccer golf games, which Kai had discovered on a family trip to Denmark.

No other cases reported, says family

Marla MacInnis, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia's Health Department, said Wednesday the province has an immunization program for people considered to be at high risk for meningococcal B.

When there is a case of meningococcal B, MacInnis said an investigation is launched to determine the source and whether any public health measures need to be taken, including vaccinating close contacts. 

The Matthews family said they've been told the health authority is investigating how Kai became infected, and that so far no other cases have been reported in Nova Scotia.

Advocating for change in the province around vaccine coverage, and sharing their son's story, gives them hope something good can come from an unthinkable tragedy, said Matthews.

"We'll never get through this grief. We'll carry it with us our whole life, we know that," he said.

"But we have to learn how to live with this grief, and this is one way."