Background and diagnosis

Alyssa Still, the firstborn child of Donna Still, was born at 39 weeks gestation by caesarean section in Thunder Bay, Ontario on November 14, 1993. Shortly after her birth, her doctor, Dr. G. Derbyshire, diagnosed Alyssa with a heart murmur. An ultrasound indicated that she had Tetralogy of Fallot. Donna Still said that she understood Tetralogy of Fallot to be a large hole in the heart, which would simply not close.

Derbyshire was familiar with Giddins, and referred the Stills to the Variety Children's Heart Centre. He advised Donna Still that Alyssa would probably have to undergo heart surgery. Donna Still and her mother, Shirley Mae Still, took Alyssa to Winnipeg in March 1994. Donna Still indicated in her testimony that she had been given the option of going to Toronto with her child, but had chosen to come to Winnipeg because it was closer to Thunder Bay. Once referred here, there was never any suggestion that the operation be performed outside Manitoba.