Maria Gaynor Obituary, Death – Mike Gaynor is devastated by the death of his 18-year-old daughter, Maria. Horror incomprehensible. “It’s unfathomable,” he says. His daughter loved kinesiology at Dalhousie. Her obituary says she loved rock climbing at Point Pleasant Park. Gaynor is shocked Maria won’t graduate. On Dec. 11, his daughter fell ill while studying on campus. The next day, she said she had a headache, vomited, and would rest. She didn’t call or text the next day.
Gaynor says neither Maria nor they knew another student had been hospitalized with meningitis on the third level of Shireff Hall. First-floor Maria Gaynor says Maria died in her dorm room and the medical examiner told him about the first meningitis case. Shirreff Hall students should have been alerted promptly, he says. If an SMS or email could have been sent, so could a letter, he says. “We didn’t know, Maria didn’t,”
He thinks Maria’s family would have detected serious symptoms. Dalhousie’s residential life director and associate vice-provost of student affairs didn’t mention meningitis in a Dec. 12 memo. Public health notified the institution over the weekend of a sick resident. Only those contacted by public health must act, and their medical diagnoses remain private. Nova Scotia Public Health declined to comment on Dalhousie’s memo to CTV.
N.S. Health’s senior communications advisor released a statement. “Our sympathies go out to the victims’ families and friends. It’s legitimate to look for explanations and measures to prevent repeat disasters.” “We first identified the first case’s direct contacts, which takes time and is the most crucial group to treat quickly. Initial results can lead to early action for high-risk connections. Diagnoses and vaccinations require more definitive data.
Dr. Cristin Muecke, regional medical officer of health, confirmed meningitis B in Shirreff Hall patients Friday. Gaynor thinks youngsters should have known sooner. If meningitis had been conveyed, suspected, prospective, proven, I don’t care, maybe things would have been different.
He says “Tough.” The family wants more meningitis transparency. “I know Maria wouldn’t want her Dal friends, family, or friends at other schools to live through this,” adds Gaynor. “We miss her” Maria Gaynor’s funeral is Thursday in Ontario. Donations can be sent to the IWK Bfor Kai Trust, which promotes meningitis B vaccination.