According to his parents, nine-year-old Carter Vigh never let his asthma hold him back.
The “incredible little boy” from 100 Mile House loved to dance and play soccer, but knew he had to keep his puffer close.
“Everyone always joked, ‘There’s Carter with his little brief kit,’ because he always had his little bag with his little lunch box with his puffer stuff in it,” mother Amber Vigh told Global News.
“He loved everyone, every animal. He had a heart of gold.”
Carter died on July 11 after a severe asthma attack, following 25 minutes of CPR and intubation at an emergency room in his hometown. Amber said he had been in the hospital before after an asthma attack, but “something was different this time.”
The B.C. Coroners Service is now investigating Carter’s death, which took place as an air quality advisory was in effect in the region due to smoke from wildfires.
Amber said the day began like any other in the summer. The pair went to the summer camp where she worked, and noting that the smoke “wasn’t bad,” the children went to the local water park to play.
She said Carter walked to the park without needing his puffer, but around noon, the smoke thickened in 100 Mile House, so she arranged a ride back to camp. He then played indoors with other kids all day, taking his puffer periodically as usual.
That evening, however, Carter had his asthma attack.
“He was just sitting on the couch, hanging out with everyone while I was getting dinner prepared, and he just started coughing like crazy,” Amber recalled.
She said Carter took his puffer and felt a bit better, but while taking a bath to cool down, started coughing again as his lips turned blue. She and his father James rushed him to the hospital as he continued to take his puffer.
When they arrived, James said there was “an army” of doctors and nurses ready to work on him. Carter fought hard, he said, as they continued to talk to him, begging him to keep breathing.
“We’re extremely grateful for the hospital. We want them to know that we know they did everything they could.”
James and Amber said the speed with which Carter’s condition escalated was something they had never seen before. They’re not sure if it was the wildfire smoke or the heat, but this attack “just hit him different and so quickly.”
He typically struggled more in the summer, James added, but when hospitalized in the past, Carter usually received oxygen for an hour or two and was able to go home like most other asthma patients.
“The visibility up here — I’ve never seen it so bad. It might as well be a complete whiteout out here. That’s the best way I could describe how thick the smoke was,” James said in the Sunday interview.
“We don’t even have a fire near us, the fires are up north,” added Amber.
According to Dr. Don Sin, a respirologist at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, Carter’s story is “very tragic” and unfortunately, not unique.
“This does happen every summer when there’s significant wildfire across British Columbia. It may not be a boy — it may be an elderly individual with asthma or a pregnant lady with asthma, but this happens when the inflamed airways of asthmatics are exposed to heavy pollution, like wildfire,” he explained.
“It goes into a severe spasm to the point where patients cannot breathe, and adverse events happen thereafter, even in an emergency setting.”
Sin estimated one or two patients are admitted to St. Paul’s daily due to asthma exacerbation. He said airway constriction may not always happen the day of high air pollution exposure, and can occur days later due to the mucus and inflammation buildup.
“What I would suggest is, anybody with increasing cough or shortness of breath should just pay special attention to their health and to the air quality, and if the air quality isn’t very good to stay indoors,” he said.
“Stay indoors, use an air purifier — not just a cleaner — but an air purifier with an N95 filter to get rid of all the very bad dust and other things in air and … if they do require inhalers to use them liberally to the point where they become asymptomatic.”
In an emailed statement, the Ministry of Health called the loss of a child a “profound tragedy,” extending its “most heartfelt condolences” to Carter’s family and friends.
“The Coroner’s Service is investigating what happened in this specific instance. We will provide further comment when it is the appropriate time to do so,” it wrote.
“We know that wildfire smoke can exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions and be dangerous for people who are already at risk.”
Interior Health referred a request for comment on this story to the B.C. Coroners Service. The Coroners Service said no cause or manner of death in Carter’s case will be “conclusively established” until the investigation is complete.
In a subsequent public statement on Monday, however, it said Carter’s death was related to “an existing medical condition aggravated by wildfire smoke” and urged the public to exercise caution in extreme heat or smoke-filled conditions.
“As the province experiences greater impacts from the effects of climate change, British Columbians are learning more about the risks associated with wildfire smoke, extreme heat and other environmental factors. This greater awareness can help us respond when risks are identified,” it wrote, urging the public to be cautious.
“British Columbians can sign up to be automatically notified of air-quality warnings via an air-quality subscription service. Smoke from wildfires is especially dangerous for people with pre-existing heart and lung conditions, older people, and infants and young children.”
Carter’s family, meanwhile, is grieving. A fundraiser to support them has already surpassed its goal of raising $20,000, raking in more than $30,000 in just five days.
While she mourns, Amber said she has a message for the public.
“I just want people to be hyper-aware of how quickly it can change. We had it under control. We did everything we were supposed to do,” she said.
“Carter knew when he needed to take his puffer. Everyone around us knew that he had his puffer. It wasn’t something we took lightly by any means, but it was also something we had no idea — the potential, how quickly it could turn.”
Both James and Amber said they hope no parent, and no patient, ever has to go through what their family has again. They said the community support in the aftermath of the tragedy has been “absolutely incredible,” and thanked everyone around them for their kindness.
A service will be held on Saturday, and the family is hoping lots of logging trucks, fancy cars and motorcycles — Carter’s favourites — will join a short procession.
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