Mom whose son caught in croup 'nightmare' wants to see broken healthcare system fixed

An Essex, Ont., mom has desperately been trying to get treatment for her two-year-old son who has had numerous episodes of croup over the past year, but after a surgery was cancelled, she feels let down by a "broken" healthcare system. Now, she's calling for change.

"We're desperate, frankly," explained Laura MacMillan. "He can't breathe and there's nothing I can do to help him."

A surgery scheduled for this week at the London Health Sciences Centre's children's hospital had given the family hope for a resolution for Harris, but it was cancelled with no new date in sight. 

"We were really, really hoping that we finally had a path to go down to try to figure out what's happening," MacMillan said. "He can't live like this."

MacMillan does not fault the health care workers, whose efforts she appreciates, and understands they are "run ragged right now" to keep things afloat, but she is calling on provincial officials to take action to fix what she describes as a broken healthcare system. 

In a strongly worded e-mail to the Office of the Premier, MacMillan urged Doug Ford to do more to support under-staffed and under-funded hospitals and fix the health care system, while acknowledging that there are many other families in similar, or worse, situations than hers.

CBC has reached out to the Premier's office and the Ministry of Health for comment, but has not heard back.

Harris is described as a beautiful, bright, funny and fearless kid, who loves busses and monster trucks. 

But Harris and his parents' world was turned upside down when Harris had his first bout of croup just before his first birthday in October 2021. 

"It sort of came out of nowhere and it hasn't stopped," MacMillan described.

WATCH | Laura MacMillan describes how helpless she feels as a mother when her son goes through episodes of croup:

Now, Macmillan, who is 19 weeks pregnant with her second child, spends most of her nights sleeping on the floor next to her son so that she can listen to him breathing.

According to the Canadian Lung Association, croup is described as a "viral infection that causes swelling in the throat and vocal cords" usually affecting children under the age of five. It's characterized by a loud barking cough that gets worse at night. 

Children might typically experience croup once or twice a year, the doctors told MacMillan, but her son has been through it nine times in one year.