An inquest that could change the handling of youth records amidst the overdose crisis went ahead in Victoria today.
With a box of tissues on every table, the small University of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 dispute resolution room was nearly at capacity for the coronerB次元官网网址檚 inquest into the overdose death of Greater Victoria teenager Elliot Eurchuk, who died at 16 from a drug overdose.
The inquest will review the circumstances leading up to the teenB次元官网网址檚 death and explore opportunities for the jury to make recommendations to prevent future deaths in similar circumstances.
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From the outside, the Oak Bay family appeared to have it all: Mother, Rachel Staples is a successful dentist and husband Brock Eurchuk, a businessman. Elliot was one of three healthy boys who liked sports and the outdoors.
But the first day of the coronerB次元官网网址檚 inquest paints a picture of an imploding family dynamic. Between moving homes, the breakdown of a business partnership, StaplesB次元官网网址� breast cancer diagnosis and ElliotB次元官网网址檚 descent into drug addiction, the family was facing enormous battles.
On Monday morning Staples told the five-person jury how she discovered her son unresponsive in bed at the familyB次元官网网址檚 home on April 20, 2018. That morning, when she noted the alarm on the front door was disabled, she immediately panicked. She went to ElliotB次元官网网址檚 room and discovered him lying sideways on his bed with his head to the side.
She ran, screaming, to her bedroom closet where she kept naloxone, which she administered into his thigh.
B次元官网网址淚 knew he was gone,B次元官网网址� Staples said through tears. B次元官网网址淏ut when [my husband] came into the room I wanted him to know we tried everything we could to revive him.B次元官网网址�
It was too late. Elliot had died with a combination of drugs B次元官网网址� including cocaine and fentanyl B次元官网网址� in his system.
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Staples described how, in the years leading to his death, her B次元官网网址渃aring, witty, spunkyB次元官网网址� son changed from an introverted book worm to a withdrawn and secretive teenager, coping with chronic pain and self-medicating with drugs.
After catching her son using a vaporizer, Staples searched his room. She found Ativan, Xanax, Diazepam and Triazolam B次元官网网址� drugs she later realized Elliot had stolen from a locked location in her dental office. According to records, she also found Dilaudid (hydromorphone) tablets B次元官网网址� or opioid analgesics.
That was before Elliot was prescribed opioid pain-killers following surgeries to his jaw and shoulder and while records presented in the first day of the inquest suggest the teen was using opioids before they were prescribed, Staples believes the 60-days of Dilaudid tablets he was prescribed post-surgery solidified her sonB次元官网网址檚 addiction.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 a huge dose for a young brain,B次元官网网址� Staples said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know how you could go away not being addicted to opioids after that.B次元官网网址�
Staples believes her son was self-medicating to deal with chronic pain and the related sleeplessness B次元官网网址� which she believed was causing him a great deal of anxiety, but she says as his substance-use dependency grew, she and her husband Brock were left in the dark.
They attempted to get access to his health records, but were told that Elliot had requested confidentiality. Based on the Infants Act B次元官网网址� the 16-year-oldB次元官网网址檚 request was honoured by doctors.
Without confirmation that he was using opioids, Staples was unable to confirm her suspicions of ElliotB次元官网网址檚 drug use B次元官网网址� and Brock, she says, was in adamant denial. Staples said the inability to make decisions about her sonB次元官网网址檚 health care, and even have knowledge of what drugs were in his system, was detrimental to the familyB次元官网网址檚 approach.
In fact their first clear insight into ElliotB次元官网网址檚 addiction wasnB次元官网网址檛 until winter, 2018, after he overdosed in the hospital and was saved by Naloxone B次元官网网址� a synthetic drug that blocks opiate receptors.
Staples hopes the inquest into her sonB次元官网网址檚 death will change familiesB次元官网网址� right to information.
B次元官网网址淎fter his death I obtained all of his records from the hospital and reading through those reportsB次元官网网址� I thought, had one doctor been honest with us, Elliot would still be here,B次元官网网址� Staples said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know how a child whose brain is washed in opioids and clearly going down the path of substance use can possibly make a rational decision about his own health care.B次元官网网址�
As the inquest continues, the jury will hear from family members, friends and neighbours, toxicology and pathology experts as well as members of the Oak Bay and Saanich police departments involved in ElliotB次元官网网址檚 case.
nina.grossman@blackpress.ca
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