Salmon Arm, BC, resident Davis Lim said he has lost the ability to see his one-year-old child Theo at the BC Children’s Hospital because he has spoken out against treatments doctors are giving his son. .“I just feel that the hospital just is exploiting our son to do as many procedures as possible,” said Davis in an interview. .Theo was born on Apr. 14, 2022 in Vernon, BC, and was airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital because of complications. He was diagnosed with VACTERL, which involves an array of vertebral, kidney, anal and esophageal anomalies..When he was born, he would swallow fluid and have it go into a pouch rather than into his stomach because there was no connection. He suffers from double outlet right ventricle, affecting his heart’s functioning. .While Theo has issues, Davis called him "such a healthy, happy boy." He added he is attentive whenever a person comes into his room. .Davis used to work as a medic in the Canadian Armed Forces, but he has developed a more naturopathic stance on medications and treatments since leaving. .When Theo was three months old, Davis said he had an aortaplexi surgery which went sour. He was put on a strong antibiotic for six weeks after the infection, which led to cardiac arrest and him being intubated..He developed another infection after the six weeks, affecting his blood and lungs. He had to continue with more antibiotics. .While a nurse was supposed to flush his IV line one night for the antibiotics, he ended up falling asleep. Davis asked if she could stop the antibiotics, as he was sleeping and did not want to wake him to start another IV. .The nurse became angry and alerted the doctor, who threatened to report him to the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development, which left him shocked. .To sedate Theo, the doctors put him on lorazepam. While lorazepam can be used to treat anxiety, it can cause dependency, addiction, and respiratory issues. .Davis said Theo required breathing support after he got COVID-19 at one month old. As the doctors did a rapid wean of lorazepam, he developed 12 seizures three days after it was stopped..Doctors gave Theo seizure and meningitis medication. Davis said he believed his son did not have meningitis and filled out a liability form so doctors would not get in trouble if there were complications. .After doing research, he discovered it is rare for a baby with these issues to have meningitis except if there is a fever or rash. He told the doctors he did not want him to receive antibiotics until there was a positive test result. .This prompted the doctors to tell the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development, and it opened an investigation into the father. .Davis tested Theo’s tolerance to go without his oxygen mask one night after a bath in February — a time when he often went without one anyway. With a nurse present, he videotaped him maskless for 30 minutes. .When doctors were shown the video the next day, they insisted he was struggling. He saw it differently, arguing doctors should have intervened if they thought there were issues. .A nurse noted Davis hesitated to put on Theo’s mask when cleaning his nose after a bath two weeks later. Due to this report, the ministry removed custody from the parents and limited him to seeing his son two times per week with an appointed supervisor. .Shortly after Davis’ lawyer agreed to the interim custody order in April, the hospital did another procedure on him where they put a tracheostomy in. His wife and him disapproved, because Theo was not given any opportunity to have his mask-off time to see if he could tolerate being off a bipap ventilator..He accused the BC Children’s Hospital of hurting Theo by feeding him through a drip tube for three-and-a-half hours and giving him a 30-minute break. After three weeks of this constant feeding, the doctors insisted he needed a GJ tube procedure due to the vomiting. .He pleaded with the doctors to let his son's stomach rest, but they would not budge. He posted on Facebook about his frustration and how he was contemplating turning off the feeding machine when he visited him on July 10. .Due to this post, his visitation rights were suspended that day. He said his wife and him are distraught about being unable to see him. .Davis has retained a lawyer to try to gain custody back, but the court process is slow, with the next court date in September. .The hospital wants to put Theo in foster care, alleges Davis, despite him being married and having three other children. The foster care system receives a large sum of money for children with disabilities. .If he takes his son home, he said he will receive barely any subsidies. He added it is “just a system that feeds itself.” .Davis concluded by saying he wants to function as a good family. .“I just hope that there’s justice,” he said. .The BC Children’s Hospital and Ministry of Children and Family Development declined to comment.
