Consent

Odim testified that, in his conversation with the Stills, he had outlined Tetralogy of Fallot and discussed the ways in which the condition could be treated.

We discussed the surgery in detail in terms of what needs to be done, how it is-how it is done using the heart-lung machine. We discussed the issues of the risk and what types of problems that one can encounter, both being on the heart-lung machine and from the actual repair and told her that essentially in terms of numbers, you take a hundred people like Alyssa, that 90 to 93 will leave the hospital. (Evidence, page 24,925)

As his note suggests, there was no discussion of treatment outside Manitoba, nor of the team's lack of experience. The Stills did not apparently raise any questions about the team's experience with this procedure. This was not surprising. However, Odim and Giddins failed to inform them of the surgeon's lack of experience with this procedure in an unsupervised setting.

The Stills then returned to Thunder Bay to await the scheduling of the operation. Upon her return to Thunder Bay, Alyssa developed a cold. Donna Still took her daughter to the emergency ward of McKellar Hospital in Thunder Bay on April 1. There she was given a prescription for an antibiotic for one week.

The operation was set for April 21. The Stills (Shirley Mae, Donna and Alyssa) returned to Winnipeg on April 17.