Watch: A Montreal hospital has closed its doors to visitors due to flu. Anne Leclair reports.
MONTREAL — Quebec is one of the hardest hit provinces in the country for this year’s influenza virus. Emergency room visits have been at an all-time high across the island of Montreal and public health doctors are blaming the flu.
On Wednesday, more than 2,500 Montrealers made a trip to the ER.
“We haven’t seen these numbers in a long time,” said Dr. Jacques Ricard, from the Montreal public health board.
READ MORE: Flu season peak arrives early in Quebec
People with symptoms are being urged to think twice before turning to the ER and some hospitals are taking extreme measures to battle the outbreak.
The Jewish General Hospital is imposing a limit on visitors starting Wednesday night and the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital has been closed to most visitors since December 27.
But one family fears the restrictive measures may have serious consequences on their very sick mother.
READ MORE: Flu season peaking; sick should head to bed
“I just want to be there.”
Eighty-six-year-old Valentina Fornarolo was admitted to the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital on Dec. 23, after falling and breaking her wrist. What makes matters worse is that she has a hard time communicating since her first language is Italian and she now suffers from dementia.
“I call everyday. I called yesterday. I was not able to speak to anybody,” said Mardegan.
“They transferred me to the ninth floor, where she is, but once you’re there, the phone just rings and rings. Nobody answers.”
What worries Mardegan the most is that her mother can no longer feed herself and hospital staff members have admitted they don’t have the time.
She’s been told her mother has stopped eating and drinking and is now hooked up to intravenous fluids to avoid dehydration.
READ MORE: Nasty flu season strikes as H3N2 cases spike across Canada
“I just want to be there. I just want to be there because she counts on me. She’s used to me so she counts on me,” said Mardegan.
No one from the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital was available for an interview, but Montreal’s public health board said it supports the preventative measures and claims the goal is to contain the outbreak within hospital wards.
“We have to protect the other patients.”
“We have to protect the other patients and we have to protect the medical personnel as well,” said Dr. Ricard, while insisting that exceptions should be made in certain cases, either to arrange for a special visit or a phone call.
READ MORE: 5 ways to protect yourself from the flu
Mardegan worries that her mother may feel abandoned because she hasn’t seen a familiar face since before the holidays.
“I keep thinking that I might get a call at some point, saying you better come here fast,” said Mardegan, who fears her mother may continue to deteriorate as long as she’s cut off from family and friends.
She said she hopes the hospital will allow a visit, before it’s too late.
“I’ve been taking care of her for years and years now,” said Mardegan. “You say ‘God, it’s probably the end,’ I presume you’ve got to get there some time.
“But not this way, not this way!”
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