“She had wishes to die. In fact, I found a wire coat hanger in her bed and she had scratches, and I feel that she was attempting to take her own life,” Maureen McDermott said.
“I just didn’t really ever consider how much her air was circulating through our house,” said Kirstin Galbraith.
“It’s not a good experience. I almost died. And luckily, I made it, I survived,” Patricia McRae said.
“I really lost my best friend. I really did. I miss him every single day.”
“I don’t know who these people are but I sure wouldn’t want them one foot near my mom,” said Jill Davis, whose mother has dementia and lives in long-term care.
“I just avoid the bigger stores, like the dollar store, the grocery store, that I know are more full.”
“My son fell through the cracks. Someday, we all might go through those cracks.”
“It was so hard because I was in my third trimester so it was very difficult to differentiate what was pregnancy and what was something else,” she recalled.
“It makes me feel really overwhelmed that I don’t know what’s going on and I might not feel prepared to get into my first year of university.”
Lianne Phillipson is not certain the COVID-19 pandemic caused her daughter’s mental health struggles, but she said she has no doubt it “exacerbated the situation.”
“People who before were going into libraries or healthcare centres really easily all that stuff is closed in the pandemic and so it’s making harder to find that access.”
“I think it’s essential that we open up somewhat and especially the outdoor activities. I think that’s necessary.”
“We’re celebrating vaccines. We’re celebrating people. We’re celebrating coming out of your house, everything that’s to do with getting better.”
Residents at two long-term care homes in the Toronto area died of dehydration and neglect during outbreaks last spring, newly-obtained Canadian military documents reveal.
“We have definitely seen some of the most complicated pregnancy scenarios I think, that we would have faced in our careers during this third wave in particular.”