Florence GirardB次元官网网址檚 caregiver has told a British Columbia coronerB次元官网网址檚 inquest she was deterred from getting help before Girard starved to death by policies about respecting the rights of people living under their home-sharing arrangement.
Astrid Dahl also says she was B次元官网网址渋n denialB次元官网网址� when she noticed GirardB次元官网网址檚 rapid weight loss in the months leading up to the death of the woman with Down syndrome in 2018.
Dahl says she first noticed Girard was losing significant weight in the summer, just months before she died weighing about 50 pounds.
But she says Girard would go into B次元官网网址渕eltdownB次元官网网址� every time she was supposed to go to the doctor or receive medical care, and this influenced DahlB次元官网网址檚 decision to keep Girard at home instead of taking her to hospital as her condition worsened.
Girard lived at DahlB次元官网网址檚 home under a program for people with developmental disabilities overseen by the Kinsight Community Society after being contracted by the provincial Crown corporation Community Living BC.
Dahl has told the inquest she would approach things differently now, given GirardB次元官网网址檚 death.
However, GirardB次元官网网址檚 strong reactions against going to doctors as well as policies about respecting GirardB次元官网网址檚 rights resulted in Dahl not getting her medical help.
B次元官网网址淪he didnB次元官网网址檛 want to go,B次元官网网址� Dahl testified. B次元官网网址淎nd I was told, if Flo says no, she has rights. And she can say no, she doesnB次元官网网址檛 want to do it, and I canB次元官网网址檛 force her to do it. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what it says in their handbook.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e had time to think these things and what could I have done differently for a long time, and thereB次元官网网址檚 many things I could have done differently,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎nd that would be one of them.B次元官网网址�
Dahl, who was convicted in 2022 for failing to provide the necessities of life, said she reported GirardB次元官网网址檚 outbursts and refusal of medical care to managers at the organization but received no solutions.
The inquest that started on Monday is scheduled to continue until Jan. 22, when a jury is expected to deliberate on possible changes to the care system to prevent similar cases in the future.
B次元官网网址淏ecause of her hatred of hospitals and doctors, I just thought if I could take care of her, she would bounce back,B次元官网网址� Dahl testified on Tuesday.
B次元官网网址淚 was in denial. I clearly know that now.B次元官网网址�
Dahl said she decided as GirardB次元官网网址檚 condition worsened that it was better to keep her at home instead of letting her die alone in hospice, because of the distress medical settings caused Girard.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e known her for 30 years,B次元官网网址� Dahl testified. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not going to let something horrible happen to her at the very end of 30 years. Why would I do that? Why would I care and love someone for 30 years and then turn around and just go, B次元官网网址極h well, who cares? Who gives a shit? Just put her in hospice. SheB次元官网网址檒l die by herself. Whatever.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t didnB次元官网网址檛 make sense to me at the time. It still doesnB次元官网网址檛 make sense to me.B次元官网网址�
Dahl told the inquest of first meeting Girard in 1990 when she started working at KinsightB次元官网网址檚 predecessor in a group-home setting, saying they B次元官网网址渉it it offB次元官网网址� due to a shared B次元官网网址渃razy sense of humour.B次元官网网址�
Dahl said Girard had challenges socializing with others at the group home, eventually leading to the house-sharing situation beginning in 2010.
B次元官网网址淪he was asked if she wanted to come and live with me, and she said yes,B次元官网网址� Dahl testified. B次元官网网址淪o sheB次元官网网址檇 known my family for the whole time IB次元官网网址檇 work there, and sheB次元官网网址檇 known my son. HeB次元官网网址檇 grown up with her. So we were all tight-knit, if you will.B次元官网网址�
GirardB次元官网网址檚 sister told the inquest Monday that she would have looked after her sister had she received some sort of funding support, adding that Girard was kept in a bedroom suite at DahlB次元官网网址檚 home that was blocked off by a baby gate, with the movie B次元官网网址淭itanicB次元官网网址� playing in the background at all times.
Dahl responded on Tuesday, telling the inquest that Girard B次元官网网址渉ad a fixationB次元官网网址� on the movie and wanted the film on B次元官网网址�24/7.B次元官网网址�
The baby gate, Dahl said, was for safety as it prevented Girard falling down the stairs.
Earlier on Tuesday, the president of a Down syndrome advocacy group in B.C. told the inquest that more funding is needed for parents and caretakers to avoid such tragedies.
Tamara Taggart told the inquest that parents and caretakers are under heavy financial pressure to provide services such as speech therapy, which can be life-altering for people with Down syndrome.
B次元官网网址淭here is no support,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淵ou have to pay. YouB次元官网网址檙e on your own.B次元官网网址�
Taggart, a former newsreader whose organization was launched in 2021 in direct response to GirardB次元官网网址檚 death, said her own family had to pay $12,000 a year for therapy to help her son learn how to eat solid food, and the province provided no support in her case or other similar situations.
She said her family is in a position of privilege to be able to pay and live in Vancouver to access that care, but other families are shut out because of the high cost and lack of access.
B次元官网网址淚 do this volunteer work so that everybody has equal access, and that parents donB次元官网网址檛 have to quit their jobs to support their child,B次元官网网址� Taggart said. B次元官网网址淭hey donB次元官网网址檛 have to go bankrupt to support their child and, if IB次元官网网址檓 being totally honest, they donB次元官网网址檛 (have to) end up in a mental health crisis for sounding like a broken record about their child all the time.B次元官网网址�
