Lisa Davidson, 30, is tormented by the question of whether her eight-month-old daughter could’ve been saved had she been examined more closely.At the very least, a physical exami nation by the attending physician at Surrey Memorial Hospital should’ve been carried out and wasn’t, said the distraught mother, who added she has decided to speak publicly to ensure the matter is fully investigated.”I don’t want anyone to think I’m doing this to get back at the hospital.”I’m not angry. I’m doing this because something wrong was done and it needs to be dealt with,” Davidson told Canwest News Service. “I just need to make sure no one else experiences this, and then I just need to heal.”Baby Melissa Davidson died in her mother’s arms Jan. 6, two days after being sent home from the ER.When the baby’s condition did not improve, the Davidson family prepared to return to the hospital last Sunday. Bundled up in her car seat, baby Melissa suddenly lost consciousness as she was being put in the van.”You could pick her arms up and she just fell. Her heart wasn’t beating. She wasn’t breathing. I pulled her out of the car seat and (my husband) went upstairs to call 911. They got there really fast,” recalled the mother.For an hour, paramedics and hospital doctors fought to bring baby Melissa back, but they could not.Two days later, the family received the news from the coroner that Melissa had died of pneumonia.The news stunned Davidson and her husband Corey, who believe there was a good chance the ER physician would’ve caught the signs of pneumonia had a thorough examination been done when Melissa was brought into the hospital two days before her death.The couple are demanding that Surrey Memorial Hospital investigate whether negligence played a role in Melissa’s death.The hospital says a full review is under way.Davidson first noticed Melissa was not well the morning of Jan. 4.Her daughter had a temperature of 103.6 degrees, a raspy voice and heavy breathing. Davidson immediately took Melissa to the ER.The physician said, “Give her some Tylenol and take her home,” the mother said, adding no physical examination of any kind was carried out by the physician - such as examining the baby’s chest, lungs, throat or ears.Dr. Anton Grunfeld, chief of emergency medicine at the hospital, said he could not speak about the specifics of the case until a peer review is concluded.But generally speaking, Grunfeld said, when babies come into the ER, a nurse takes the child’s vital signs, as was done in this case. It is not the nurse’s job to do a physical examination, he said.It is the doctor who must physically examine the patient and question the parent about the child’s medical history.”It’s difficult to comment on the case, but I can tell you the usual way we handle patients. We’re very careful,” said Grunfeld. “We listen to their hearts, we listen to their lungs, we examine the patient. And we listen to the parents, of course.”Grunfeld said he will meet with the Davidson family Monday.Vancouver Provincelsin@png.canwest.com
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