Baby from Argentina doing ‘much better’ after becoming critically ill in Canada

A baby boy who became critically ill while his Argentinian family was briefly in Montreal for a business trip is now expected to make a full recovery.

Baby Augusto, who is now just shy of nine months old, was suddenly in the fight of his life when they arrived for a three-day work conference in the city earlier this year.

“He’s much better,” Matías Andretich, the baby’s father, told Global News on Thursday.

Augusto was hospitalized on March 19 at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. Medical staff had to resuscitate and intubate him as physicians were tried to figure out what exactly was making the infant so ill.

Andretich said his son received a preliminary diagnosis of rhombencephalitis — a form of brain inflammation — on April 2. Augusto had contracted a virus during the trip, he added.

After being cleared for a medical flight back home to Argentina, the baby boy has been recovering in Bueno Aires. Augusto is now working to gain strength and regain the ability to breathe on his own.

“We see that he is missing his strength in the neck and trunk,” Andretich said.

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Augusto will be at a rehabilitation centre for the next month, he will undergo different kinds of therapy during that time.

“Every day he has exercise sessions; two in the morning and three in the afternoon,” Andretich said.

When he is ready to leave the facility, Augusto will continue therapy. He is also being followed closely by other medical teams, including a neurologist and cardiologist.

While Augusto is making progress, the last few months have been emotionally draining but also very expensive for Andretich and his wife.

Their insurance only covered a small portion of the medical care in Montreal, which cost about $17,000 per day. The medical flight home was another nearly $200,000. An online fundraiser was launched in a bid to support the small family cover the mounting medical bills.

“It’s going to be long, but he’s doing much better,” Andretich said.

— with files from Global News’ Gloria Henriquez