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David Stephan and his wife, Collet Stephan, arrive at court on March 10 in Lethbridge, Alta. The Stephans are on trial for failing to provide the necessities of life to their 19-month-old son.David Rossiter/The Canadian Press

An Alberta father accused of causing the death of his toddler by not taking him to the hospital when the child had meningitis believed his son had the flu and was recovering, according to the man's testimony in court.

David Stephan and his wife, Collet, were charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life after 19-month-old Ezekiel Stephan died in March, 2012. They have pleaded not guilty, and on Monday Mr. Stephan testified in court in Lethbridge, Alta.

Ezekiel was sick for more than two weeks and his parents treated him with numerous home remedies, including a mix of apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger root, onion, hot peppers and horseradish. The child's breathing was "noisy" in the early days of the illness, so Mr. Stephan believed Ezekiel might have had a cold. The Stephans put essential oils in a humidifier to address that, and took Ezekiel into their basement sauna after spraying a mix of water and essential oils on the rocks, Mr. Stephan said.

The child made progress over the two weeks, Mr. Stephan said on Monday.

"He was getting better, like most people do. There was nothing alarming. There was no severity of symptoms that would lead you to believe you should seek medical attention," he told the court. The father was travelling for work off-and-on while the boy was sick, and relying on information from Ms. Stephan.

The parents called 911 and took Ezekiel to the hospital after he stopped breathing. He was airlifted to Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary from Lethbridge. His CT scan showed signs of seizures, the court heard. He was eventually taken off life support.

Mr. Stephan said his wife, in the days leading up to the 911 call, brought up the possibility of meningitis. Mr. Stephan said he had heard the word before but did not know anything about it. While some symptoms overlap, Mr. Stephan said he believed Ezekiel had the flu rather than meningitis.

"There was no high fever. There [were] no seizures that we were aware of. Nothing that looked [like] a seizure and he was conscious and responsive" and communicating with his parents through hand signals, the 32-year-old father said. "He enjoyed watching his cartoons."

Mr. Stephan's testimony did not always align with what he previously told police. The father, on Monday, told the court at one point his son was "80 per cent" better and had not "fully regained all his typical activities throughout the day and stuff like that, but [did] not appear to be laid up by sickness – just in recovery-mode."

However, Mr. Stephan in March, 2012, told police Ezekiel "wasn't very mobile" and that he "wasn't up walking around," according to the transcript the father's lawyer read in court. The accused on Monday said he "can't reconcile" the difference between the two statements.

"I was confused," Mr. Stephan told the court. "I've tried to go over it a few times to try to figure out what would lead me to even say that. I don't know what was on my mind at that moment."

In earlier testimony, a pediatrician said Ezekiel had less than a 1 per cent chance of surviving by the time he was taken to hospital and was probably already brain dead.

Mr. Stephan said he grew alarmed after several interviews with doctors when it appeared that there was a belief he and his wife might have had something to do with their son's condition.

"It was in regard to brain damage that had taken place … and the question was posed in such a way that I was left thinking that there was suspicion. Now we're in a state of fear of Ezekiel possibly passing but also that [older son] Ezra will possibly be taken from us."

With a report from The Canadian Press

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