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CBC
05-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Man who considered assisted death after bedsore tells coroner's inquiry 'you have to fight' for care
Among the dozens of people who testified at a coroner's inquiry into the death of Normand Meunier, Claude Labelle may be the only one who really understands what he went through. Meunier, a 66-year-old quadriplegic Quebec man, requested medical assistance in dying after developing a severe bedsore during a four-day stay in the ER at Saint-Jérôme Hospital last year. The inquiry has heard over the last several weeks about the unbearable pain he suffered, and how the system failed him before he died in March 2024. "In my opinion, it was the right thing to do," Labelle said of Meunier's decision in an interview with CBC News after his testimony Tuesday. "It was very, very, very hard for him — a big, severe wound." Like Meunier, Labelle is quadriplegic, uses a wheelchair and is prone to severe bedsores on his buttocks. "As soon as you have pressure or redness, it's the beginning of a possible sore, so what you have to do is relieve the pressure on that red spot," Labelle said. "I have to be on my side — one side or the other, never on my back." That can mean days or even weeks of being bedridden in uncomfortable positions while waiting for a sore to heal. The key to preventing such sores is to change positions every two hours, and to use a special pressure mattress for sleeping or resting. Meunier was unable to get access to such a mattress during his stay in the ER, the inquiry has heard. Like Meunier, Labelle is frequently in hospital, and he's also had difficulty accessing those mattresses. He said each time, he has to re-explain to hospital staff the care he needs to prevent bedsores. Labelle said when he does that, he's often dismissed by hospital staff. "You have to fight to get care. That's nonsense," Labelle said. 'At the end of my rope' Labelle told the inquiry how he hit his own breaking point during his most recent hospital stay in January, when he developed a sore and his discharge was delayed several times. "When the doctor told me I had to stay even longer, I said no, that's it," he said. Labelle asked his doctor that day if he could request medical assistance in dying. "I was at the end of my rope," he said. The doctor asked him if he had a date in mind. "I said 'as soon as possible'. I said 'if you can do it today, let's do it today, I can't deal with it,'" he said. Labelle said at the time, he feared he might be bedridden for the rest of his life. "I had made my peace with being disabled, with being in a wheelchair the rest of my life, but not in a hospital bed," he said. His doctor suggested he take time to discuss his request for assisted death with his family before making a final decision. He ultimately decided not to go ahead with it. "It's still in my head. I don't have any sores right now. I don't have any signs of a sore, which encourages me," he said. "But it's fragile." A dozen requests for assisted death An advocacy group representing people with spinal cord injuries told the inquiry cases like Labelle's and Meunier's are "the tip of the iceberg." Walter Zelaya, president of Moëlle Épinière et Motricité Québec (MEMO Quebec) also testified Tuesday at the inquiry, which in its final week heard recommendations from experts about how to prevent such incidents from happening again. "At least 12 members of our association have requested medical assistance in dying due to health problems and a health-care system that doesn't take care of them," Zelaya told CBC in an interview after his testimony. Zelaya said all the requests came since the province loosened the criteria for receiving medically assisted death in 2023. He said in most cases, the patients were frustrated that hospitals and CLSCs weren't doing enough to help them prevent and treat bedsores. "People are caught between the undue suffering they experience, and ultimately deciding to leave. And they ultimately choose to leave," Zelaya said. "We understand this decision very well, but it's extremely painful to see that these people deep down did not want to die." Harder for patients since health-care reforms During his testimony Zelaya showed the inquiry several photos of painful bedsores submitted by members of the group, similar to the one that Meunier developed in hospital. His group keeps a registry of members who have bedsores, and there are currently dozens. Zelaya said things became harder for members of the group in 2015 following the health-care reforms of the previous Liberal government. He said the centralization of administration and decision-making at the time meant many local institutions — individual hospitals and rehab centres — lost their governance structures. It became harder for patients with specialized needs to request care and services, and harder for them to complain when things went wrong, he said. Zelaya said that's led to an increase in patients developing serious bedsores. MEMO Quebec made several recommendations to the inquiry, including: Creating dedicated wound clinics to care for patients with pressure sores. Improving communications between home-care services and hospitals so patients' care plans automatically follow them when they're hospitalized. Making sure all hospitals and care homes have an appropriate supply of easily accessible pressure mattresses. Training on prevention and care of bedsores for all health-care workers. Recognizing and valuing the expertise of patients with pressure wounds. Ensuring each patient who suffers from chronic bedsores is followed by a family doctor. Other groups also made recommendations to the inquiry this week, including health-care institutions and professional orders. Coroner Dave Kimpton will now take time to consider all the testimony before delivering a final report with recommendations, which is expected in three months. 'I have faith this will lead to something' Labelle said when MEMO Quebec first asked him to testify at the inquiry, he was skeptical. "I wondered if it was a waste of time, if after all this, no one is going to do anything," he said. But he says watching the process unfold, and watching how Kimpton handled witnesses, made him more optimistic. "He's really on his game, really attentive to details, and taking the time to listen," Labelle said. "I really have faith that this will lead to something, and if it doesn't, MEMO Quebec will keep knocking on doors," he said. "Maybe I'll be there too," he said, then pausing for a moment, a slight smile curling onto his face. "Not maybe, I'm going to be there," he said.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Partner of Quebec man who received MAID after bedsores says hospital ignored her
MONTREAL — Sylvie Brosseau said she and her partner Normand Meunier dreamed of buying an adapted camper where, despite his quadriplegia, they could indulge their shared love of the outdoors, and spend time with their children and grandchildren. All that changed after Meunier was left on a stretcher at a hospital north of Montreal for 96 hours and developed a severe pressure sore that never healed, Brosseau said Thursday outside the Montreal courtroom where a coroner is holding hearings into Meunier's death. Meunier, who was 66, requested medical assistance in dying two months after developing the sore and died March 29, 2024. "Despite his quadriplegia, he still had plans he wished to realize, he had lofty goals," Brosseau said. "But because of the incurable bedsore that appeared at the hospital, he had no more perspective on life." Brosseau says she repeatedly asked hospital staff to give Meunier a special therapeutic mattress that prevents sores, but she says she felt ignored. "They cared very little about me," she said prior to her testimony at the coroner's inquest. She brought photos of the couple's life together, including one showing Meunier grinning broadly while surrounded by grandchildren. She said she wanted people to remember that side of him, and not only for graphic photos of the gaping wound on his buttock that one nurse would describe as the biggest she'd ever seen. Coroner Dave Kimpton is presiding over the investigation into Meunier's death. The inquest, which began May 5, is also hearing from police, medical personnel, and experts who will offer recommendations. In her testimony Thursday afternoon, Brosseau said bedsores were 'always a worry' because Meunier had developed them during previous hospital stays. She testified that her partner had been taken to St-Jérôme hospital on Jan. 18, 2024, with respiratory issues. She said she had told the medical staff that he was prone to sores and advised them of the equipment he needed, including a therapeutic mattress. However, she said Meunier remained on a stretcher for four days before he was taken to intensive care. After a two-day stay in intensive care, he was transferred to another unit on Jan. 26, where Brosseau said the proper equipment again wasn't provided. When she questioned one of his doctors about a mattress, she was told, "you are lucky, I saved his life," she testified. He told her that securing a therapeutic mattress would be handled by others. "For him, it was part of the decor," she said of the mattress. Meunier was let out of hospital on Jan. 29. The next day, the medical staff who came to treat him at home saw the sore and was shocked, she said. Brosseau became tearful when she described seeing the wound on Feb. 5, after her husband's caretakers convinced the family Meunier needed to return to hospital. "I never saw something like that," she said. "It's unimaginable.' Brosseau said that throughout her husband's multiple hospital stays, she continually had to fight for him to get the supplies he needed, including mattresses, sheets and bandages adapted to his needs. Meunier requested medical assistance in dying in early March, after his condition had continued to decline. He died on March 29, surrounded by family and with his chosen music playing. "He left how he wanted," she said. At the conclusion of her testimony, Kimpton told Brosseau he was "shaken" by her testimony, and praised her dedication to her partner. "He was lucky to have a warrior at his side," the coroner told her. Brosseau's lawyer, Patrick Martin-Ménard, said outside the courtroom that Meunier's story shows that bedsores, and the care of those susceptible to them, remain a "blind spot" in the health system. "What we saw throughout this inquest is that throughout Mr. Meunier's stay, there was very little awareness on the part of the professionals who should have been trained to be able to monitor this situation," he said. Martin-Ménard said the testimony from hospital staff showed "little introspection" or willingness to take responsibility for what happened to Meunier. He said he hoped the inquest results in a stronger system that will proactively identify and address the needs of people at risk of bedsores at every step of their journey through the health network. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025. Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
Toronto Sun
16-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Widow of quadriplegic man in Quebec who chose MAID blames hospital for his death
'There was never any teamwork,' Sylvie Brosseau said Published May 15, 2025 • Last updated 55 minutes ago • 2 minute read Sylvie Brosseau, the widow of Normand Meunier, holds one of the last pictures of themselves together. Brosseau is testifying at a coroner's inquest on Thursday May 15, 2025. Meunier, a quadriplegic patient, developed excruciating bedsores, leading him to seek medical assistance in dying. Pierre Obendrauf/Montreal Gazette In her final testimony at a coroner's inquest into the death of her husband, Sylvie Brosseau wept at length on Thursday as she recounted the horrors Normand Meunier suffered at the St-Jérôme Hospital before he chose to end his life with medical assistance in dying (MAID). This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Meunier, who was quadriplegic at the time of his death on March 29, 2024, developed gaping, irreversible bed sores on his buttocks — over 20 centimetres in width — after languishing four days on a bare stretcher in a harried emergency room. Brosseau reiterated that the hospital failed to provide until it was too late the mattress her husband absolutely needed for his festering bed sores. 'I had never seen anything like this in my life. It's unimaginable,' she recalled in a halting rhythm punctuated by loud sobs. 'I had absolutely no power over the situation.' Meunier's case has exposed the chilling inadequacies in Quebec's health care system — from the overcrowded ER to the lack of an available mattress. But at Thursday's hearing by coroner David Kimpton, Brosseau criticized what she believed was the hospital staff's poor teamwork, suggesting that it was the main contributing factor that led to her husband's death. And in an interview with The Gazette, she suggested Meunier's death was the result of systemic negligence. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Every testimony we've had until now has been: 'It's not my fault. It wasn't me who did it.' Everyone was passing the buck, there was never any teamwork,' she said before her testimony. 'It must be an organizational problem in the health care system, and that's why I want to denounce it publicly.' Before being admitted to St-Jérôme Hospital, Meunier received 24/7 home care from nurses and Brosseau. She pointed out that her husband only developed bed sores during hospital visits, and that this was not a problem he experienced at home. 'The quality of care, the quality of the mattress, the level of communication and attention should be the same at home as it is at the hospital,' Patrick Martin-Ménard, the lawyer representing Brosseau, said in an interview. 'It should be treated as a team effort, not as a nuisance.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Meunier was vulnerable to bed sores and needed a special type of bed to prevent them from getting worse. Brosseau said she pleaded with hospital staff repeatedly to get him the type of therapeutic mattress he had at home, which was only delivered weeks after he arrived in the ER of the Laurentian hospital. 'I sounded the alarm and said, 'Do something, he's dying,'' she said in the interview. 'I wondered if I'd gone mad, or if it was really my reality that nothing was changing. I'd argued, asked, fought. I was nice, I was harsh, I demanded help. Nothing changed.' The inquest also heard previous testimony from nurses who acknowledged that they didn't monitor Meunier's bed sores in the ER, and had even underestimated their severity. The coroner is expected to make a series of recommendations in a report in a June.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Partner of man who sought MAID after ER bedsore says hospital staff wouldn't listen to her
Sylvie Brosseau gave an emotional testimony at the public coroner's inquiry into Normand Meunier's death. Meunier died in 2024 after he developed a severe bedsore during a stay at a Saint-Jérôme, Que., hospital.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
'Nobody was reacting,' says partner of man who pursued assisted death due to ER bedsore
Carrying an envelope full of photos of her partner, Sylvie Brosseau's voice cracked as she shuffled through the stack — revealing a photo of Normand Meunier in a golf cart with their grandchildren. "We were always outside," she said of Meunier. "Despite him being quadriplegic, he had many projects … he had goals." But when he developed an "incurable" bedsore at the hospital, she says her partner "no longer had an interest in life." Meunier spent four days on a stretcher in the Saint-Jérôme Hospital's emergency room without access to a specialized mattress in January 2024, when he arrived with a respiratory virus. He developed a severe bedsore during his stay and chose to pursue medical assistance in dying as a result of the massive wound, which eventually stretched down to his muscle and bone. As horrific as the sore became, Brosseau says it's important to also remember that behind the bedsore "is a person, and me, I'm bringing photos of the person." The day before his death, Meunier spoke to Radio-Canada and said he preferred putting an end to his physical and psychological suffering by opting for a medically assisted death. His story made headlines across the province and resulted in Quebec's chief coroner ordering a public inquiry into his death. Over a week into the inquiry, which has heard from nurses, doctors and staff from the hospital, Brosseau testified that the bedsore her partner developed after spending 96 hours on a hospital stretcher was "unimaginable." On Thursday, she explained that she cared for her husband around the clock after he became paralyzed in 2022. Although they regularly dealt with his bedsores, she struggled to describe the deep, black pressure wound on her husband that developed in February. "I have never seen anything like this," said Brosseau, breaking down. Last week, Brosseau testified briefly after the coroner received a request to lift the publication ban on images of Meunier's bedsore. Brosseau said she had discussed the idea of photos being released with Meunier, who by the end, said he was OK with it if it would help people understand what happened to him. CBC News has viewed photos of the bedsore, including one image which shows Meunier lying on his side without clothes. A large, deep, black, open wound covering parts of his buttocks is visible. Concerns not taken seriously, Brosseau says On Thursday, Brosseau testified that her concerns over the developing bedsore in hospital were not taken seriously by some staff and that "nobody was reacting." During his hospitalization, she says she quelled her concerns because she is not a medical professional and chose to trust the medical staff's perspective about the seriousness of the sore. Describing the first few days of his January hospitalization before he was transferred to the intensive care unit, she described her repeated requests for a therapeutic mattress. She says nothing changed for days and staff didn't reposition him regularly every couple hours — a process recommended to prevent the deterioration of sores. Soon after returning home, the CLSC was alerted to his situation. The head of the home-care department for the CLSC testified last week that they arranged for Meunier to be readmitted for a treatment that can be painful, known as debridement. Before his hospitalization, Brosseau says they talked about the spring and thought about planning picnics or fishing trips. "His goal was to see his grandchildren grow up," she said. "That gave him hope" After his January hospitalization, she says he didn't want her to talk about his bedsore "but by my reaction, he could tell it was not good." "It was tough," said Brosseau, her voice cracking. She says she supported him in his decision to die on his terms. Although she says her family accepted it, she says some didn't completely understand. Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Brosseau says her goal is to bring awareness to her partner's reality and for better collaboration to prevent this from happening again. "Pressure sores don't just happen at home, they occur in hospital frequently. Care is not adapted," she said. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Patrick Martin-Ménard, the lawyer representing Brosseau, says accountability in this case is lacking. "Pretty much what we've heard as a recurring theme throughout this investigation has been, 'it's not within my responsibilities,'" said Martin-Ménard. Coroner Kimpton is being assisted by attorneys Vanessa Nadeau and Pierre-Olivier Bilodeau as well as physician Dr. Marc Jalbert, who will act as an assessor. Throughout the hearings, over 30 witnesses will speak, including an investigator from the Sûreté du Québec Mascouche, nurses from the CLSC Lafontaine, family doctors and other specialists working at the Saint-Jérôme Hospital.
