When 5-year-old Cathy Kassis was taken to the doctor’s office, doctors said she had cold and would soon recover. Sadly, that’s not what happened. Unfortunately, the little girl’s condition worsened as days passed by.
Her breathing became increasingly difficult and resembled “an asthma attack or the labored breath of someone with emphysema,” according to the girl’s mother, Jasmine.
When she was rushed to the emergency room, doctors once again failed to perform any bacterial tests. They just tested her for COVID-19 and RSV, and both tests turned out negative, so Cathy wasn’t prescribed any antibiotics.
Her health took a devastating turn for the second time. The reason why? Cathy had a rather common but potentially deadly bacterial infection: group A Streptococcus, or strep A, that doctors failed to diagnose.
Strep A is an infection that affects millions of children worldwide and can be treated with antibiotics.
If left untreated, it can lead to serious complications, and even death.
Speaking of her daughter’s condition following the second hospital visit, Cathy’s stepfather, Justin, said, “She was going in and out of consciousness and had sort of collapsed in Jaz’s arms.” He explained that her lips turned blue and she lost consciousness so he performed CPR for 10 to 15 minutes until paramedics arrived.
Cathy was then airlifted to Westmead Children’s Hospital and doctors performed CPR on her for 78 minutes straight, but the lack of oxygen caused irreversible brain damage.
By the time the infection was identified, the girl’s body had gone into failure. The chances of recovery were almost nonexistent.
Cathy lost her life because doctors misdiagnosed her. Had they done tests right away, her life could have been saved.
“What I’ve said to everyone is we’re going to worry about those doctors later because that’s a fight for a different day,” Justin said, adding they hope no other parent should ever suffer such a heartbreaking loss.
Cathy’s parents donated her organs on Jersey Day, a national campaign promoting organ donation. It helped save three lives.
“I just want people to know who Cathy is and what she was able to do,” Jason said.
“She epitomises a real life superhero, and not many people can say that.
“Something that’s been the worst moment of our lives… At least she was able to save three other families, which is a beautiful thing.”
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