'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 more than 90 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.