A four-year-old boy, James, faced a life-threatening cardiac arrest due to Group A strep infection. His condition rapidly deteriorated, requiring immediate intervention.
"His heart wasn’t working well, his lungs we knew weren’t working well and it can make your whole body sick," stated Dr. Laurance Lequier, medical director of the Stollery Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) team. Doctors informed parents that without Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), James had a low probability of survival.
ECMO is an advanced life support system that temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs, allowing critically ill patients' organs time to rest and heal. The Stollery's specialized team not only treats patients within the hospital but also travels with a mobile unit to retrieve critically ill children.
In a testament to their expertise, the Stollery Children’s Hospital's ECMO program has received a platinum level center of excellence award from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). This international recognition signifies an exceptional commitment to evidence-based processes, quality measures, staff training, and patient satisfaction, meeting the most rigorous standards of performance and innovation.
James, who once faced dire odds, has now fully recovered and is a healthy child, a testament to the life-saving capabilities of the Stollery's ECMO program.