Fully vaccinated Ontario man dies after COVID-19 sweeps through his hockey league
A fully vaccinated Ontario man has died after a COVID-19 outbreak swept through his adult hockey league.
Oro-Medonte father-of-three Garry Weston died last week after suffering a severe stroke while fighting pneumonia caused by COVID-19, his family says.
His daughter, Amber Weston-Campbell, said the 75-year-old contracted the disease in late September while playing in his three-on-three hockey league in Newmarket for the first time in 18 months.
There were 15 COVID-19 cases linked to the hockey league and all were breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people, officials in York Region said.
"My dad was an avid sports person," Weston-Campbell told CTV News Toronto on Thursday. "He's been waiting to go back and play because he just loved hockey."
A few days after playing, Weston-Campbell said her dad started to feel unwell.
"It was like a cold, but it progressively got worse at home," she said. "He was struggling to breathe."
Weston was admitted to hospital but wasn’t getting any better. He was transferred to intensive care and not long after that was intubated.
"As they were intubating him, he developed signs and symptoms of a stroke," Weston-Campbell, who is a registered nurse, said. "They discovered after he had a massive stroke. The doctor basically said to us he wouldn’t be able to come home. It was a grim diagnosis."
Garry Weston, 75, died after a COVID-19 outbreak swept through his Newmarket, Ont. hockey league. (Supplied)
Weston-Campbell said the doctors told her the damage caused by the stroke was irreversible and he would have "no quality of life" if he managed to survive when taken off life support.
"It would have been so unfair of us to try and keep his physical shell of a body, which it would have been, when he would have hated every minute of it. He was far too active of a guy to live like that."
She said the family decided last week to switch off his life support.
'They played his favourite Doris Day song and they said that was the only time he made movement. He squeezed my sister's hand."
Weston died in hospital on Oct. 21.
"You would never meet a person who wasn't sure if they met Garry, because you knew it. You knew when you met Garry because he meant every hug, he meant every handshake and he meant every smile. He was a great guy."
Weston leaves behind his wife, three children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
'IT SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE'
Weston lived with his spouse, youngest daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. Everyone in the home tested positive for COVID-19, despite those above 12 years old being fully vaccinated.
"It spread like wildfire. How did this happen?" Weston-Campbell said. "We're shocked."
She said the family still believes in the efficacy of vaccinations and doesn’t want people to be paranoid.
"We just want people to be vigilant," she said. "It's a very small number of people, but you never know when that number is going to be you."
According to Weston's best friend of 50 years, the other 14 people who tested positive in the hockey league had minor symptoms.
Brian Dunn told CTV News Toronto he was sitting next to Weston at the hockey arena. He also tested positive for COVID-19, but had minor symptoms and has since recovered.
“How did we all get this transmitted to each other?" Dunn said. "We were all double-vaccinated, we went into the rink showing our proof of double vaccination, with our masks on."
The public health department said the arena was following all COVID-19 protocols, but the general manager says he wishes he was infomed of the cases sooner.
“Timing of everything was the confusing part for us," Andrew Shorkey, General Manager of National Training Rinks Newmarket said. "Only because the timelines of when they got sick versus when we were notified were very very spread apart. It would have been a lot easier to maybe manage or control if we had known 10 days prior to when we found out.”
"What more could we have done, except not played," Dunn said. "It’s a shock. How did this happen?"
"I'm completely pissed off and sad."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.