Online petition garners support as Ont. mother fights for special exemption for toddler in ICU with RSV

An online petition is gaining momentum as a Cookstown, Ont. mother fights for her son to receive an antibody treatment for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, after being denied by the Ministry of Health.

“Today was the first x-ray that we had where he didn’t have a collapsed lung in three and a half weeks,” said Lauren Dempsey.

Lauren Dempsey’s son George is just weeks shy of his fourth birthday and has been in the ICU at SickKids in Toronto for more than three weeks fighting RSV.

Initially placed on breathing tubes as his parents fight to get him a six-month antibody treatment, which Dempsey says costs $42,000.

“It’s kind of mind-boggling to me that this can still go ignored by the government for something that seems so fundamental given RSV right now,” said Dempsey.

It’s a treatment George received until earlier this year when he aged-out to protect him against the virus, which is primarily available to high-risk children under two.

George has a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy, making his fight with RSV even more difficult as his parents remain by his side.

Along with his parents, who applied for the treatment, SickKids recommended George receive a special exemption from the ministry, one his doctor said likely would have prevented the young boy from serious illness.

“There was a way to help prevent George from catching this, it was supported by medical teams that are well respected in one of the best children’s hospitals in the world, and you just ignore it,” said Dempsey.

The online petition has collected more than 12,000 signatures calling on the government to issue George a special exemption for the RSV antibody treatment due to his age.

It’s George’s second bout with the virus, which he caught in 2020 when he spent about two months in the hospital.

Now amid flu season, the government is denying George the treatment his parents believe will help prevent the severity of the virus in the future.

“For you to just think that he’s just a piece of paper that crossed your desk that you put an X on for whatever reason, it’s not acceptable, and it’s not okay,” said Dempsey.

Dempsey said SickKids has resubmitted an application for appeal and is awaiting that decision from the Ministry of Health.

With George now testing negative for RSV, she hopes to get government approval for treatment in time for her son’s fourth birthday to help protect him.