Ontario toddler dies in her sleep after doctors refuse to perform tests and tell parents she only had the flu

Arzo Wahab of Newmarket, Ontario stated that she and her daughter Sophia had fallen ill around Christmas with what was reported to be the flu. As Wahab started to recover from the illness, Sophia's condition did not improve. She developed a fever, began vomiting, and her eyes were discoloured, the outlet reported.

With a wait time estimated at 13 hours at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Wahab and her husband took their daughter to a walk-in clinic the following day. The doctors said that the girl was in need of urgent medical attention and had her taken to the emergency room at Southlake Regional Health Centre.

"That's where everything went really wrong," Wahab told CTV News. "We saw the resident doctor and we told her everything, we said she is puking green, which is a sign of infection."

"I asked them, since she's had a fever for 10 days now, could you please give her some antibiotics or do some blood work?"

"They said 'No, she's fine, probably what happened is she had one viral infection and now she's got another one,'" Wahab noted.

"They just keep telling me she has the flu. We asked her so many times to do tests but we kept getting brushed off. I told the doctor that her eyes don't look the same – this is my kid, I knew she wasn't well."

"The doctor was claiming it was a viral infection without actually checking anything. No blood work, no tests done. It was from just visually seeing her."

CP24 reported that medical documents from Southlake Regional Health Centre revealed that Sophia's heart rate was 164 on Jan. 3, with a fever of "38.4 degrees, and was lethargic."

Sophia was discharged two hours later, without blood work or the supervising doctor even seeing her.

The medical documents show that the family was asked to return to the hospital if the symptoms did not get better after four days. As a result, Sophia passed away in her sleep three nights later.

"She started making these choking noises in the middle of the night," Wahab said through tears. "My husband woke up and called the police. Officers did CPR on her and took her to the hospital but they couldn't find a heartbeat."

Though the final report of Sophia's death has not yet been released, Wahab shared that she was told by the coroner that Sophia had died from Strep A that turned "septic, a bile infection and pneumonia."

"Death investigations can take months to complete and the reports will be shared with the family once they are finalized," a statement said.

Wahab stated that she feels the healthcare system failed her daughter, and that if the physicians had run tests on Sophia, she might still be alive.

"I asked them so many times to do tests," she said. "I am just so angry with the health-care system. We kept being told by the doctors she was fine and we believed them."

"I feel like right now her death has gone unjustified. I just don't want any other families to have to go what we went through," she added. "Even if this saves one kid's life – it's worth it."

"My husband and I are suffering every day over a loss that can't ever be filled for the rest of our lives. Losing a child is like losing a part of yourself, nothing is ever the same again."