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Community grieving for teen
Outpouring of support for family after 14-year-old Kyle Losse is taken off life support IAN JACQUES
i j a c q u e s @ d e l t a - o p t i m i s t .co m
A talented young Tsawwassen baseball player, beloved by his coaches, teammates, friends and family, has died following a serious head injury. Kyle Losse, 14, a popular Grade 8 student at South Delta Secondary, was taken off life support at BC Children’s Hospital Tuesday afternoon. The BC Coroner’s Service is investigating to determine the exact cause of death. Kyle’s stepmom Niki spoke with the Optimist yesterday morning. She said Sunday night she and her husband Brian were in bed when they heard a loud crash and found Kyle on the bathroom floor. “He did have a vape pen beside him. At that point he was not really responding to us and sweating profusely, so we carried him to the car and rushed off to Delta Hospital,” said Niki. Niki said staff helped get him into the hospital where the parents explained the situation and the possibility that he might have hit his head. “They tested his blood to find out if anything had been in the vape and everything came back negative for all major drugs, including fentanyl, and they were just unsure if he was having a negative reaction,” she said. “They monitored him for eight hours, but I don’t feel his condition was getting any better. He said his head hurt and he was in and out of consciousness.” Staff released Kyle, telling the parents he was to rest at home
Kyle Losse (left) was a star baseball player who played with the B.C. Baseball Selects team in the U.S. last summer. for two days and to bring him back on Wednesday for further blood work. But Niki said when they got home, Kyle was still complaining of a sore head and was in and out of consciousness all Monday morning. Niki called the hospital again to talk with the doctor who was in charge of their case. “The nurse said the doctor had gone home and that she didn’t have his chart in front of
her, but you can do what you want to do,” recalled Niki. “I really didn’t know what to do, but by 1 p.m. I felt his condition was getting worse, so I called 911 and that’s when the first responders came and rushed us to BC Children’s Hospital. “They performed X-rays and CT scans and everything I feel that should have been done at Delta. The doctor at Children’s explained that something had
happened to his entire brain and she couldn’t explain how this could have happened so that’s why an autopsy has to be performed.” Fraser Health spokesperson Tasleem Juma said the health authority has reached out to the family to extend sympathies and explain the plans to review Kyle’s care. “Our deepest sympathy goes out to this family. We performed
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both toxicological and neurological tests and kept the patient for an extended observation period to which he started to improve,” said Juma. “The patient was neurologically stable when he was discharged with no indication of any outstanding issues.” The sudden loss is being felt by many in the Tsawwassen community. CELEBRATION: see Page 3
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