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Fatality inquiry begins into foster girl's death

A fatality inquiry got under way this week into the 2006 death of a 13-year-old girl who died shortly after she left a Morinville-area foster home.

A fatality inquiry got under way this week into the 2006 death of a 13-year-old girl who died shortly after she left a Morinville-area foster home.

Samantha Martin spent most of her life in provincial foster care but was returned to her biological parents shortly before her death from an apparent heart condition. She had a rare genetic disorder that soon after her birth required her to be placed in provincial care due to the complexity of her medical needs.

Martin lived her last days with her biological family in St. Albert but up until that point her foster home was located in the Morinville area.

The inquiry is meant to determine the precise cause of Martin’s death and make recommendations as to how such incidents could be avoided in future. The inquiry can not assess any legal responsibility.

In addition to inquiry counsel Dave Syme, Velvet Martin, Samantha’s mother, is representing herself, while children’s services and the foster parents are represented by legal counsel.

At the opening of the hearing, the court was given a detailed review of Martin’s condition, tetrasomy 18p, a chromosomal disorder, similar to Down’s syndrome, but much more rare.

Dr. Jannine Cody, a geneticist from the University of Texas who has studied the conditions, testified via teleconference that the disorder is exceedingly rare.

“It is really rare, so rare I don’t think we even have numbers,” she said.

Cody estimated the conditions affected no more than one child in 100,000.

Cody and Dr. Daniel Hale, a professor of pediatrics at the Texas university, testified that the disorder is not well understood. The two are jointly involved in a research institute that is aiming to better understand the syndrome and better inform physicians.

The pair detailed work they had done for a journal article published last year that helped to identify common symptoms of the syndrome and characteristics of those children dealing with it.

The work included reviews of medical histories and charts as well as several clinical assessments of patients in Texas.

The study found that 21 per cent of patients experienced some history of seizures, 24 per cent had some cardiac problems and 32 per cent had gastro-intestinal problems.

In the lead-up to the inquiry, Velvet Martin had raised concerns that her daughter was experiencing seizures that went untreated while at the foster home. That is one of the issues that will be examined during the hearing.

Despite the higher rates of seizure activity, Cody testified that children with this condition generally could live healthy lives and do well.

“We have found overall they are a robust, healthy group of children and young adults.”

Hall added such children do not require constant hospitalization or round the clock care.

“They are not generally medically fragile.”

Children with the disorder tend to live with their parents or in a group home setting into adulthood, and then can often hold down employment and be somewhat self-sufficient.

“The children do quite well and certainly better than the prognosis most of their parents were given.”

The inquiry is set to resume this afternoon with Velvet Martin taking the stand. It is scheduled to run for three weeks and hear from a number of witnesses.

The list of individuals set to testify include the foster mother, several representatives from children and youth services, educators at George Vanier School in Morinville and several physicians who treated the young girl.

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