This is true for a local family that is mourning the tragic loss of eight-year-old Liam.
In a whirlwind of emotions marked by disbelief and rapid events, Kingston mother Julia Gartland found herself in a situation that quickly turned into chaos and grief.
On the final day of the Victoria Day long weekend, Monday, May 18, 2026, Gartland thought it would be nice to take her kids to Dairy Queen for a treat, she told Kingstonist.
Such outings are often routine for many families. But for Gartland, caution became second nature after discovering her son Liam had severe allergies to dairy and peanuts, as shared by her friend Kristina Richmond. Checking orders became essential in their daily lives.
Liam also suffered from asthma and was unknowingly dealing with COVID-19 at the time of his passing.
Yet these concerns faded away during what was supposed to be a fun outing – until they suddenly mattered greatly.
“I ordered the vegan Dilly Bar,” Gartland recounted to Kingstonist the next day. “When they handed it to me, they specifically said, ‘Here is your vegan Dilly Bar.’”
“I didn’t think to check; I just handed it to him.”
About five minutes later, she recalled her son expressing worry that his dessert might actually contain dairy.
Gartland looked at the packaging. Her son was right; there had been a mix-up with his order.
What happened next was a frantic rush of calling 911 and seeking medical assistance as it became clear how serious the situation was.
While on their way to get emergency help, Liam “flatlined,” according to Gartland. “They had to call a second ambulance.”
The desperate attempt to save her son hit an emotional wall when Julia and her children were met by Frontenac Paramedics on their route.
“They got there and continued with compressions,” Gartland remembered. “He ended up in cardiac arrest for 55 minutes, which caused severe brain damage.”
Once at Kingston General Hospital (KGH), it became painfully clear how critical Liam’s condition was. She learned he needed airlifting to Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa.
“They told us at KGH to start saying our goodbyes since they didn’t think he would make it to CHEO,” Gartner said sadly.
“He made it but got a hole in his lung.”
Liam’s lung damage came amidst challenges like asthma and COVID-19-making everything much worse than anyone anticipated.
“His lungs were so inflamed from COVID and his asthma that they just couldn’t handle it,” Gartland expressed.
At that point..he required life support while awaiting brain scan results.”When those results come back from that,” she stated with deep sorrow only a parent can feel,”we will have to say our goodbyes.”
By Wednesday morning , May20 ,2026, Liamwas gone.
“We said goodbye at18:28 last night,”Gartlandsaidon May21.”That’swhenmysweetboygotpromotedtobemyforeverguardianangel.”<img decoding ="async "width ="1014 "height ="1153 "data-id ="228261 "src ="" %%URL_2 %% ""alt =""class ="<p > ;
Liam ’ s sisterandmother sharesomefinalmomentswithhim. Photosvia Go Fund Me.
Injusttwoshortdays, Liam ’ slife
“Asmychildren said,’Anicecreambar literally killed this little boy.’Amistakeatadrive-thru. Thewrongthingwasgrabbed , not knowing themagnitude ,”said Gartland’sfriend Richmond.Richmondquicklypointedout Gartland’s commitmenttokeepinghersafe.(xvii) (”Julia.. isveryawareofhisallergiesandhaskept him safe allthetime,”shesaid.”Sheis apart-time , working, single mom. Sheis financially doingitallherselfrightnow.”(p )> (p ) Richmondputitplainly : theamountofthefrozen snack Liamingested , combinedwithhisasthmaandthepreviouslyundetectedcaseof COVID-19,“justcausedhis hearttostopinsteadofhimgettinghives orclosedairway.”
Struckbytheutterhelplessnessofthe situation, Richmondlauncheda Go Fund Mecampaigntoassist Gartlandandherfamilyamidtheirgriefandmourning.(Quote)Thecampaignpage reads.< ; p style=color: red;> ; For their part, Dairy Queen’scorporatecommunicationsdivisionconfirmedtheyareawareofthisincident.(bold)– quote – ”Wearedeepsaddeneduponlearningofthistragicnews. Ourheartsarewiththefamilyandlovedonesduringthisdifficulttime,”Dairy Queen’s communications department saidinastatementto Kingstonist.The statementcontinues statingtheywereincontactwiththestoreoperatorwhois cooperatingfullywithauthorities astheycontinuetheirinvestigation./div>Kingston Police confirmedtheyareassistingthecoronerinthe case but would notsayanythingfurther. “
Whatwecanconfirmrightnowisthat Kingston Policeareassistingthe Coroner,”Lindsey Hegadorn Corporate Communications Coordinatorfor Kingston Policesaid, noteingthatthelocalpolicedepartmentisnotinvolvedin”‘anycriminal investigation.'” Policewouldnotsaywhetheracriminalinvestigationmightensue basedonthefindingofthecoroner.   Photo via Instagram.   Photo via Instagram.  Photo via PETA. While it’s unclear whether frozen treats served at Dairy Queen restaurants share similar packaging, thepackagingfor Dilly Bars soldinrestaurantsor retail outlets varies basedonthetypeof Dilly Bar. Kingstonistspoke with Erik S. Knutsen, a professorat Queen’s Schoolof Lawwhospecializes inareasofthelawthatdetermineswhat happenswhenpeoplesuffer someharm: insurance law, tort, civilprocedureandthecivillitigationsystem healthlaw, andmedicalliabilityaccordingtotheapparently university. /> While Knutsenwasmadeawareofsome specifics of Liam’ssituation, theprofessorspoke To Kingstonistonageneral level regarding tort law.< ; strong >He wasn’t afraidtosay he’ snotacriminal lawexpert, buthedidnote thatevidentlycriminallawgenerally requires somesorto f intent. it sounds like this may nothavebeenameant todo kindoffunction.” “;……..
