A 19-year-old Hallmark soap opera actor is reportedly fighting for her life after plunging five storeys from a balcony walkway at Vancouver’s St. Paul’s hospital.
Beloved for her recurring role in the period drama When Calls the Heart, Mamie Laverock is “fighting hard everyday” to recover from injuries sustained in a fall, which occurred as she was being escorted from a secure unit at the hospital, according to a family statement.
“Her body has been shattered,” the actor’s parents wrote in a post to a fundraising page.
“She is enduring tremendous pain and continues to not give up. We can only hold onto the miracles of each day and continue to thank everyone for their prayers and marvel at the miracles of her story.”
‘In time to save her life’
News of Laverock’s ordeal has bounced around the tabloid universe in recent days as news outlets from TMZ to People magazine posted updates on her condition.
The actor had a recurring role as nursing student Rosaleen Sullivan on When Calls the Heart — a series, available on CBC Gem, which follows schoolteacher and single mother Elizabeth Thornton to the quaint Western Canadian town of Hope Valley from 1910 onward.
Laverock appeared in the first two seasons of the show in 2014 and 2015 and returned to the role last year.
According to a GoFundMe page created by her parents, Laverock’s mother, Nicole Rockmann, travelled to Winnipeg on May 11 to help her daughter with a “medical emergency.”
“Nicole was able to get there in time to save her life,” the post says. “Then got her to a hospital in Winnipeg.”
The GoFundMe page says Laverock was transferred to St. Paul’s later in May, but then on May 26, tragedy struck.
“Mamie, who has been in intensive treatment for the past two weeks, was escorted out of a secure unit of the hospital and taken up to a balcony walkway from which she fell five [storeys],” the fundraising page says.
In an update posted to the fundraising site, the family said Laverock underwent a series of extensive surgeries before being moved from St. Paul’s to another hospital.
‘My heart is broken’
Providence Health Care, the organization which runs St. Paul’s, would not comment on the specifics of the case, citing patient confidentiality.
But spokesperson Shaf Hussain confirmed Laverock is no longer at the hospital.
“In general, in cases related to patient safety, an internal critical incident review is conducted to determine exactly what happened and to make recommendations for improved patient safety,” said Hussain.
“Our hearts go out to the patient, family and all affected by this event, and offer our best wishes for a full recovery.”
The family did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News. But Laverock’s mother spoke with the L.A. Times — insisting that her daughter’s fall was not a suicide attempt.
“This is an absolute miracle and there will be accountability,” Nicole Rockmann told the newspaper.
“All we care about is that Mamie can make a recovery and that she’s alive and that she’s fighting and that she’s strong. It’s unbelievable that she’s with us.”
The stars of When Calls the Heart posted their support for Laverock online, with series lead Erin Krakow calling on others to donate to help her “if you have the means.”
Johanna Newmarch, the actor who plays Molly Sullivan — the mother of Laverock’s character — posted a link to the GoFundMe page as well as a drawing of the wounded actor on Instagram.
“I love this wonderful family so much,” Newmarch wrote. “My heart is broken.”