There was emotional testimony this week at the coroner’s inquest into the death of 16 year-old Elliot Eurchuk.
The Victoria-area teen died last April. He had become addicted to pain medication, which eventually led to street drugs, following a sports injury.
His mother, Dr. Rachel Staples, said it was heartbreaking to watch Elliot’s rapid slide from star athlete and student to drug-sick teen.
“We know that it was mixed toxicology,” she said, in describing how her son died.
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“I think there was heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl.”
On Tuesday, the inquest focused on Elliot’s parent’s efforts to get information about his care.
They’ve said the B.C. Infant’s Care Act prevented them from making decisions about — and being informed of — their son’s treatment.
On the stand, in response to questions about a non-responsive incident at the hospital, Elliot’s father Brock Eurchuk recalled a discussion with a doctor.
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“I said, ‘I need to know why my son was dead on your hospital bed 12 hours ago, no one is telling me anything, we need information,'” he testified.
“This went back and forth, I challenged her. I said, ‘Are you going to be parenting Elliot if and when he gets discharged from the hospital? Because, I can’t parent a child if I don’t know what he is doing with his body.'”
Following his testimony, Eurchuk told Global News that a review of the systems in place to address vulnerable youth need to be improved.
The jury of five will review the testimony from 40-plus witnesses and recommend measures to try and prevent future tragedies.
The inquest is scheduled until the end of next week.