The Crown called its last scheduled witness to the stand Tuesday in the trial of the parents of a young Alberta boy who died of meningitis in 2012.
Dr. Jonathan Gamble was one of the doctors at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary who was treating 18-month-old Ezekiel Stephan in March 2012.
Gamble told the court Ezekiel was “by far our sickest patient in the ICU” at the time.
He also testified that bacterial meningitis was not 100 per cent confirmed until after the boy’s autopsy.
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The court also heard Gamble testify the toddler was diagnosed as being brain dead twice: first on March 15, 2012 and again the next day.
Ezekiel was taken off life support on March 18, 2012.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard the little boy’s body was stiff, he refused to eat and was lethargic for weeks leading up to his death from meningitis.
The toddler’s parents, David Stephan, 32, and Collet Stephan, 35, allegedly turned to natural remedies to try and address the issues.
They are charged with failing to provide the necessities of life and have pleaded not guilty.
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Gamble said there was no improvement in Ezekiel’s brain function from the time he was first diagnosed as brain dead until he was taken off life support.
The judge has said that if the trial runs past Thursday, which is the scheduled end date, the trial will resume on April 11.
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