‘he fought very hard’: nl mom who lost newborn wants better pediatric training in rural hospitals
6 minute read
kayla hickey and her husband, ryan bowering, share a moment with their son, declan, while he was receiving critical care in hospital in late 2023. declan died at 25 days old after a bacterial infection.
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when kayla hickey left the health sciences centre (hsc) with her newborn twins on nov. 10, 2023, they had a clean bill of health.
little did the dunville woman know that just 25 days later, her firstborn son, declan bowering, would die from a bacterial infection.
the infection led to critical care at the janeway and out-of-province care at iwk in halifax.
while hickey said that she and her husband, ryan bowering, have no way to prove it, they believe declan picked up the infection at the placentia health centre. they believe this to be true because of the lack of proper equipment and inadequate training they saw firsthand at the hospital.
“i had to get to a place where i could speak about him without anger, i don’t want to say without grief, because i always have grief for him,” said hickey.
“but being able to speak about him and his situation, and making our situation aware, is important, so this doesn’t happen to another family anywhere.”
‘didn’t have proper equipment’
hickey went to the placentia health centre on the advice of a public health nurse because her daughter violet, declan’s twin sister, was “stuffy.”
the twins were only a week old, added hickey, who was also advised to have declan’s jaundice levels rechecked while there.
when they got to the placentia hospital, hickey said violet was deemed too sick to be treated there and needed a transfer to the janeway.
“they didn’t have the proper equipment at the time to even treat her,” said hickey.
there was only one set of infant nasal prongs, she said, and if both her children needed the same treatment that day, they would have had to choose.
hickey remembers having to physically hold violet in position to keep her airway open during the oxygen treatment.
ryan bowering and kayla hickey, getting ready to bring their twin son and daughter, violet and declan, home from the hospital after they were born on nov. 10, 2023. hickey says both babies had a clean bill of health at the time. contributed
‘had to get instructions’
to assess declan’s jaundice, hickey said that they needed to do bloodwork.
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because of where they live and it being a small town, hickey said a lot of people know her, so while waiting, she was talking with the staff. that’s when she found out many of them don’t have experience drawing blood on babies that small or felt comfortable doing it.
“it was later said to me that these people are qualified. but it isn’t something that they do every day in placentia,” said hickey.
hickey said when they went back to do the bloodwork, it was clear to her and her husband that the staff were unaware of what they were doing. at one point, she said that they even had to get instructions.
she and her husband claim that items even fell on the floor that were still used.
“in st. john’s, if something had touched the side of i’m gonna say the baby’s bed, it was not used at all,” said hickey.
“and i wish i could say the same for what happened to us in placentia hospital.”
son left bleeding on the table
according to hickey, when the medical staff went to get the instructions, they had already pricked declan and left him bleeding on the table. it is through that wound that hickey believes he contracted the infection.
violet, meanwhile, was transferred to the janeway, but had to wait almost 10 hours for an ambulance.
she stayed there to get treatment, which separated the family for a bit. it was during violet’s hospitalization that declan had developed a boil-like lesion in his groin area.
declan’s boil was dismissed as diaper rash, but hickey now believes it was the first sign of the infection. after it appeared, she said, things started to get worse for her son.
“sometimes they say you learn the hard way. it was a very hard lesson to learn,” said hickey.
the kind of infection that he had, although not confirmed at that point, is known as a “silent killer,” hickey said, and it was already brewing in his body, causing damage without anyone knowing.
kayla hickey holds her son, declan bowering. hickey says she has reached a point where she can speak about her son and what happened to him in hopes of preventing similar situations for other families. contributed
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coding in the janeway
when declan started developing a runny nose and was missing feedings, hickey asked her parents to bring declan into the janeway, where she was with violet.
after arriving with her parents, hickey thought to herself that declan “looked so much worse” than when her parents had facetimed her before their drive out.
because she was already at the hospital, hickey said the doctors and nurses were aware of declan’s condition and met them at the door.
“he was first coded in the janeway emergency that day,” said hickey.
after he coded, doctors realized he needed pediatric intensive care unit (picu) level care, she said. the doctors were able to find out that he had dangerously low blood pressure and confirmed the bacterial infection within 24 hours, said hickey.
hickey described her son’s care at that point as hour by hour, not day by day.
“we were getting answers, but we were also looking at a child who was fighting, and i mean fighting, for his life,” said hickey.
transfer to halifax
by dec. 1, 2023, declan required 24-hour pediatric kidney dialysis, something not available in the province, so the iwk was consulted. hickey said after a few delays due to declan’s instability and a snowstorm, he made it to halifax.
she and her husband followed after.
she said that iwk was a completely different environment compared to hospitals here, with controlled access and clear communication from staff.
however, declan’s condition continued to deteriorate with the bacterial infection affecting his lungs, kindeys and heart.
‘fought hard for newborn baby’
hickey said he was initially considered for ecmo and dialysis, but by dec. 4, was no longer eligible.
that’s when declan was placed 100 per cent on life support. by the next morning, the new parents were asked to consider withdrawing life-sustaining care.
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“we didn’t want him to suffer any longer. he suffered enough,” said hickey. “he fought very hard for a newborn baby.”
hickey said that the loss of her son was difficult, but that her grief is evolving. currently, violet is thriving and three years old, and she and her husband had another set of twins in 2025.
she describes her life as bittersweet.
“i’m forever thankful that he wasn’t our only child. he was our first son and our only son. but you know, violet got us through our coming days, “ said hikcey. “i can honestly say as a first-time mother, she was my saving grace.”
kayla hickey and her husband, ryan bowering, with their children, reagan, violet and gage. hickey describes her life as “bittersweet” following the loss of her firstborn son, declan. contributed
holding them accountable
although she is in a much different place than she was just a few years ago, hickey still believes that something needs to change at her local hospital and with health care accountability.
in june 2024, hickey drafted a letter to the health authority, the provincial government, her local mha sherry gambin-walsh and the placenta hospital.
she gave all parties a 30-day window to reply, and while she did get answers from all these people, hickey described them as emails of acknowledgment and condolences; nothing concrete.
hickey did manage to get a meeting with placentia hospital leadership and client relations with nl health services (nlhs), but it didn’t result in the way she hoped.
“they offered the staff at the placentia health centre to offer more training around infants and children in dealing with them,” said hickey.
she added that the decision wasn’t mandated.
“i guess, from a client relations point of view, they thought the complaint was dealt with,” she said.
calling for change
hickey said that when it comes to change, she wants to see the training gaps for pediatric care in rural hospitals, the long transfer delays and the doctor shortages addressed.
“those are all small, little things in health care that need to be fixed. but they are small little things that quickly lead to bigger things,” said hickey.
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“in our situation, i think it’s a perfect example of how small, small items can quickly lead to big problems.”
the telegram has reached out to nlhs for a statement on the matter, and one has not yet been provided. this story will be updated when and if one is.
this article was originally published in the st. john’s telegram on january 9, 2026.
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