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Wednesday, December 28, 2016

a Steeler's hat

For some reason I am again obsessing about when I wanted to get a Steeler's hat from Ro so I could bury it with Randy.   She said that his possessions did not belong to me (his wife and best friend); they belonged to the public guardian and trustee.  I cannot understand how she is still the manager of George Pearson Centre.  This was ridiculous.  She could not understand that after Randy died all his possessions belonged to me.

The purpose of getting the public guardian and trustee was to deny me access to Randy.  Once the public guardian and trustee becomes committee that means the public guardian and trustee controls every aspect of a patient's life including visitors.  GPC management was spiteful. They knew exactly what they were doing.

This after she convinced the public guardian and trustee to take away my legal rights to Randy by getting the PGT to revoke my power of attorney.  I do no know what she said to the PGT but she told me that she had reported me to what end I did not know at that time.  I remember saying to her that she had nothing on me except me sending out emails to which rarely I got a reply.  She asked me about finances and my personal life.  I told her it was none of her business.  She assured me it was. I did not know her job was to be a spy.  I thought everything in a hospital was suppose to be confidential.  I subsequently read that 80% of all referrals to the PGT come from hospitals.  So do not try to be friendly with any health provider as they will report you.  They will never report each other for criminal or unethical behaviors, but they report patients and visitors.

I also remember before the public guardian and trustee got involved, she told me to take home most of Randy's belongings.  This was in December   She said it cluttered up his space.  It was cluttered for three years and all or a sudden she wanted neat.  This was in December 2013 days before I had to face another Do Not Remove. She knew that Randy was close to death and she wanted his stuff out of GPC to make her job easier when he died.  Randy became acutely sick on December 26, 2013 and I had to fight with GPC that he had to go back to acute care.  I now realize that GPC put Randy under a slow code which is illegal.  Again Randy was so fragile if he did not go to acute he would have died. We were told that there was a Do Not Remove Order on Randy so that he could not leave George Pearson Centre and also the doctor instructed staff not to phone him.  Vancouver General Hospital kept him for three to four weeks and then they sent him back to George Pearson Centre against our wishes.

The health authorities for years kept sending Randy back to GPC, a place where he was not safe.

Randy was not convicted of a crime so that the state can send a criminal to where they want.  Randy had an accident and he needed a place where he would be safe and not an institution that did everything to dislodge me from him so he would feel isolated and DNRs could be placed on him without me knowing.

How can we trust hospitals to be safe when one-third of all hospital deaths are attributed to medical errors.

The mantra of the health authorities on how they deal with family:  (1) delay (2) deny (3)divide family from patient (4) discredit (5) demoralize.  I was a witness/victim in every single stage.


When I would tell VGH and St. Paul that it was not safe for Randy to be returned to GPC, they did not investigate or even want to know the details.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Public Guardian and Trustee

Free reign leads to gross misconduct.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Wynton Marsalis

The truth has to be fought for.

Speakeasytalks.com

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

November 11 2016

Friday, November 11, 2016

In memory of November 11.

I still can't believe what they did to Randy and me.  Those precious hours that I was prevented from being with Randy before he died.  Why.  I still want to know why. Randy wanted to see me so who made the decision that I could not see him. Who, a broken medical system that controls 50% of our economy.  Who are these people.

I could not even see Randy on the sidewalk away from the hospital for a few minutes because it was too much work for our gigantic expensive health system designed for patients to arrange as I was banned from accessing all VCH properties. The first time I met Nurse Ratchet in 2010 when Randy was transferred from VCH to GPC she came down on me dictating that if I wanted to visit Randy, I would have to sign a visitor's contract.  Where did that come from: a visitor's contract.  Later I learned this is common practise.

We speak of the fallen soldiers this day.  What about Randy who believed in justice and in country and in family.  What about him.  What about him being badly treated by denying him his rights by our own government (health care system). They are not suppose to be the enemy. We should not be afraid of them.

What about the mothers in Ontario who spoke on national television that they are afraid to talk after being abused by health professionals when giving birth because their children might need medical attention later on.  What about them.

When people are afraid to talk, then the medical system is the enemy.
---------

I am off to the November 11 memorial service at Hastings and Cambie ... Victory Square.

You do not have to be a soldier to die for your country.  Randy also died for his country.

1:OO PM

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Randy November 2013

I remember when Randy was transferred to George Pearson Centre from Vancouver General Hospital in November 2013, no one would tell me where he was.  He was gone and when I went to the nurses station they were all there maybe one-half dozen of staff milling around.  It was policy.  If a patient is transferred VGH will not tell you where he went.  I was extremely upset and not one of them would help me. It was as if they were laughing at me.They knew something that I did not and they enjoyed seeing me in distress.  I was not an occasional visitor, they all knew me, I would go to see Randy every single day. VGH knew for weeks ahead that Randy was to be sent to George Pearson Centre and yet I was not privy to this information. Randy could not tell me as he could not talk. That sick policy is still in effect. So you never know if someone died or not.

Monday, December 12, 2016

Finally, some states are making medical assisted suicide a criminal act

Ohio passes bill making assisted suicide a felony.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition  (9 Decemer 2016)

Ohio Senate
Great news: The Ohio Senate passed HB 470 last night.

Ohio has become the Fifth State in the past few years to strengthen protections in law from assisted suicide.

The Ohio Senate voted on House Bill 470, a bill that would make assisting a suicide a felony in Ohio on Thursday December 8. HB 470 had previously passed in the Ohio House last May by a vote of 92 - 5.

Jeremy Pelzer, reported for Cleveland.com  on November 7 before the vote that:
House Bill 470 ... would make knowingly assisting in a suicide a third-degree felony in Ohio, punishable by up to five years in prison. 
Currently, Ohio law only permits a court to issue an injunction against anyone helping other people to kill themselves. 
If the Senate passes the bill on Thursday - expected to be the last day of the legislative session - it would head to Gov. John Kasich for his signature. The measure passed the Ohio House 92-5 last May. 
State Sen. Bill Seitz, the Cincinnati Republican who authored HB 470, said the legislation mirrors Michigan's 1998 ban on assisted suicide, which was passed in response to Dr. Jack Kevorkian's well-publicized campaign.

This should be what we should be doing in Canada. Anyone who is hastening the death of another be it by assisting suicide or attaching a DNR on a patient without his consent should be thrown in jail. I still cannot get over how our government allowed Dr Dunne to put on DNR/DNT Orders on my husband, Randy Michael Walker, and when I complained the powers would not even remove Dr Dunne from being Randy's physician. Although I had a representation agreement on Randy, the powers decided that I should not be involved in this lethal discussion. I am sure Dr Ellen (Hemlock AID) is still doing euthanasia every day and causing her exhaustion from the vast tnumbers yet no comment comes forth. What kind of nation are we. The safeguards supposed safeguards can be easily circumvented to render them useless. Even the waiting period is a joke. 604.321.2276

Comment: Note this quote: “Mark's death underscores how little the world knows about real-life cases of euthanasia, as opposed to the sanitized versions which appear in politicians' speeches.”
Nancy V.
Netherlands offers euthanasia for alcoholics
It's certainly less bother than a 12-step program in Alcoholics Anonymous
Michael Cook | Nov 28 2016 | comment18
The ever-expanding circle of eligibility for euthanasia in the Netherlands now includes alcoholism. Writing in the Dutch magazine Linda, journalist Marcel Langedijk describes the grim life and death of his brother Mark, a hopeless alcoholic.
After eight years and 21 stints in hospital or rehab, Mark decided that he had enough. He had two children but his marriage had collapsed; his parents cared for him and he had plenty of family support, but he was unable to dry out.  
Finally he asked for euthanasia. Physically he was quite ill and psychologically he was suffering badly. He met the minimum criteria for euthanasia in the Netherlands. A woman doctor in a black dress and sneakers arrived to give him his lethal injection. She confirmed his decision and then gave him three doses. He died quickly. 
Mark's death underscores how little the world knows about real-life cases of euthanasia, as opposed to the sanitized versions which appear in politicians' speeches. Isn't this just another case of society giving up on a person who had given up on himself? What comes next? Will Dutch drug addicts be encouraged to take the cheapest drug rehabilitation program ever? Just one needle and you are "cured" forever...
Mr Langedijk is writing a book about his younger brother’s disease and his death through euthanasia which will be published next year. 
Michael Cook is editor of MercatorNet.

I wonder if her sneakers were black....

10:36 PM (6 hours ago)


http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/12/13/demand-for-medically-assisted-death-continues-to-rise-in-alberta

Demand for medically assisted death continues to rise in Alberta

BY KEITH GEREIN
FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016 10:17 PM MST | UPDATED:
MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016 10:55 PM MST


Sixty Albertans have received medical aid to end their lives this
year, as demand for the service continues to grow across much the
province.

New statistics released Monday by Alberta Health Services show the
number of assisted deaths has essentially doubled in the past two
months, a trend that has confounded health leaders.

Instead of tapering off following an initial surge of interest, demand
appears to have grown stronger through the fall and into the start of
the holiday season — months after new federal legislation came into
effect.

“It’s still quite out there and people are aware of it and are
therefore thinking about it as an option,” said Dr. James Silvius,
AHS's lead for medical assistance in dying preparedness. “Whereas a
year from now when it’s not so prominent, people may not be thinking
about it the same away. At least, that’s my guess.”

The statistics show 90 per cent of the deaths have taken place since
June 17, when the new federal law removed the need to obtain a court
order to receive the service.

Silvius said the province had been averaging two to four deaths per
week from June to September, but that rate has since gone up to about
three to five per week.

In addition to the procedures that have been performed, 28 other
requests for medical aid in dying have been rejected because the
patients did not meet one or more legal criteria. Common reasons why
people are deemed ineligible include a having a mental health
diagnosis, a loss of capacity or competency, or failing to have a
condition where death is “reasonably foreseeable,” AHS said.

The higher-than-expected demand has put pressure on a small team of
nurses hired by the health authority to respond to the requests and
navigate patients through the process.

Silvius said one more position has recently been added to better
handle the workload, and extra nurses could be hired if the trend
continues to escalate.

“Obviously, it would be nice to have more but I don’t think we are
delaying anybody because of the number of navigators we have,” he
said.

AHS has also been struggling to find additional doctors willing to
assist a patient’s death.

An initial survey of physicians earlier this year found 150 or more
who said they would be willing to provide the service, but far fewer
have come forward.

Silvius said AHS plans to send a new survey to doctors early in the
new year, in part to gauge the reasons for physicians’ reluctance.

“It also gets into what role would they be prepared to play. We will
ask, ‘Would you be willing to be a consultant, or an assessor? Or
would you be willing to actually be a provider?’”

Silvius said AHS will also reach out to Alberta’s 450 nurse
practitioners, after they received cabinet approval last week to
provide medical aid in dying.

Associate health minister Brandy Payne said the approval should
provide additional options for people wanting the service,
particularly patients in rural and remote areas of Alberta who may not
have regular access to a doctor.

Alberta’s demand appears to be roughly comparable with other
provinces, Silvius said. He said Alberta has been one of the best
prepared jurisdictions and the process has been working quite smoothly
overall, despite the higher-than-expected requests.

Close to half of Alberta’s assisted deaths (28) have occurred in the
Edmonton zone.

Cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis are the
three most commonly cited conditions among the patients who have
received the service.

As of the end of November, six patients requesting medical aid in
dying have been transferred to AHS care from another health agency,
such as Covenant Health, Silvius said.

Covenant, the Catholic-based health organization, has said it will not
allow medical aid in dying to take place in any of its hospitals,
continuing care facilities or palliative care units.

By the Numbers: Medical Aid in Dying in Alberta

60: Total deaths that have taken place in 2016.

28: Deaths in the Edmonton zone.

19: Deaths in the Calgary and central zones.

8: Deaths in the south zone.

5: Deaths in the north zone.

6: Deaths that occurred between Feb. 6 and June 17, when a court order
had to be obtained.

41: Deaths that have taken place in a facility.

19: Deaths that have taken place in the community, including at home.

70: Average age of people who received the service in Edmonton.

kgerein@postmedia.com

twitter.com/keithgerein
 
 
What is the toll for BC
 
 


Saturday, November 26, 2016

Affordable Housing

I just viewed a documentary about Hamburg.  It reminds me of Vancouver. Private land developers took over Hamburg causing a terrible affordability problem there as well.  It seems affordability is fueled by the knowledge that there is an affordability problem: those that can will borrow, beg and steal for down payments to buy properties before prices get worse thus creating a demand that inflates property values that cannot be reversed.  No government will do anything to lower the value of real estate.  It would be political suicide.

Think about this.  A friend of mine who earns $80,000 a year pays $1,000 a month for a suite in a house.  This low-level suite has two bedrooms and mirrors the upstairs in size.  He complains that his rent is too high.  He pays less than 10% of his income on rent; I pay 50% of my income on rent and my living space is 50% less than his.  Go figure.  Maybe my friend is an outlier.  But then how many outliers are there.  There is no way of knowing.

And remember Libby Davis.  Libby Davis lived in social housing while she was a federal member of parliament.  So much for the NDP and this fighter for social issues.  She could well afford to rent elsewhere and leave that unit open for those that truly needed low-income housing. 



Monday, November 21, 2016

Euthanasia might have been necessary fifty years ago

'I believed that euthanasia was the only humane solution. I no longer believe that.'

In 1969, when I was 15 years old, my adored 37-year-old single Auntie Nancy was diagnosed with very advanced, untreatable ovarian cancer. It was a dreadful time in our close extended family's life. She began to deteriorate quickly and to develop severe pain from the tumour masses in her abdomen. She asked to stay at home and to be allowed to die in peace surrounded by her loving family.
There were no visiting palliative care nursing teams then. There was no medical expertise in pain control. Doctors avoided using narcotics until the final hours for fear of addiction and that they would stop working if started too early. As my aunt began to deteriorate, an experienced private day nurse was engaged. My mother, in tandem with my other two aunts, would stay up every third night with my aunt, turning, toileting, massaging and comforting her. She was in agony and regularly cried out in pain. The doctor eventually prescribed a small dose of morphine to be strictly used every four hours. It had no effect.
My aunt slowly became emaciated and developed painful bed sores. The family increased their efforts. They would care for her till the end. Eventually, after months, she became so desperate that she pleaded to be killed. Please? Please? The visiting nurse, a courageous and compassionate woman, promised to help. She had a cache of unused morphine ampoules from previous patients for desperate situations. Unable to obtain appropriate orders from the doctor, she secretly gave them to my aunt. Finally she was freed of her suffering.
It took many years for my mother to tearfully tell me this very painful story. Her guilt, regret and sense of failure were profound. I was convinced that such mercy killing must be made more easily and widely available if it was true that no other treatment options existed.
But since then my views have changed. Thirteen years after my aunt died, I trained in the newly established speciality of medical oncology. I spent any spare time learning pain control and palliative care. I listened to the experts and to my patients.
I began to see newer emerging team-based palliative care treatment options for those like my aunt. Many more of our patients were now dying peacefully. I could see that euthanasia may not be the answer after all.
The advances in the skills, availability and knowledge in palliative care since those days have been phenomenal. The horror stories of doctors telling nurses to close the doors of the patients who were screaming out in pain were fast disappearing.
I have received many euthanasia requests from patients and families over my 34 years in full-time oncology practice, some very passionate, but I have invariably found that they quickly disappear as reassurance and adequate medication doses provide the comfort that is desired and the newly exposed opportunities for patients and families to share deep and poignant moments of bonding and reflection, or nurse a new-born grandchild, or attend a wedding or a graduation.
If a patient and their family needs help for a comfortable and peaceful death, doctors routinely increase the dose of medications, even if the patient dies sooner as a result. As long as the primary goal of this treatment is the relief of suffering and not to cause death, this is permitted.
This "law of double effect" is a legal grey area that allows doctors to provide optimal care short of primarily trying to kill the patient. Some would call it passive euthanasia. Perhaps it is. However, as a secular humanist, it is a subtle but huge difference that allows me to relieve suffering, to share some of the most profound human experiences possible and to sleep comfortably at night.
As an oncologist with 35 years' full-time experience, I have seen palliative care reach the point where the terminally ill can die with equal or more dignity than euthanasia will provide. It is now very effective and increasingly available for two of the three possible ways of dying, outside of sudden unexpected death, which are advanced cancer and chronic relapsing and remitting organ-specific disease such as heart or lung failure.
Palliative care is also available for people with chronic progressive cognitive diseases such as dementia. This is the fourth way of dying and perhaps the most feared of all.
Euthanasia is unlikely to become available for people in such circumstances because their condition prevents truly informed consent.
Only a fully informed detailed advanced care plan done before any decline, where one can prohibit life-saving interventions such as antibiotics and intravenous fluids if certain conditions are met, can easily and safely produce the smooth outcome that many would desire if combined with palliative care.
Like Andrew Denton and others who have observed unbearable suffering in loved ones and the terrible failures of modern medicine in the past, I had once believed that euthanasia was the only humane solution.
I no longer believe that.
The experiences of countless patients and families should be the inspiration for continuing to improve palliative care, for general introduction of advanced care plans and not for euthanasia with its openness to misuse.
If the Victorian government legalises assisted dying for people suffering from serious and incurable conditions, it will be the wrong choice. It is not necessary and, as outlined in the minority report to government, it will inevitably increase the pressure, both stated and perceived, for some chronically ill patients to move on and stop being a burden.
Ian Haines is a medical oncologist.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Evictions by Triump: passive aggressive torture




Donald terrorized his tenants during the ’80s.

The name ‘Trump’ has commonly been associated with luxury but tenants of the real estate mogul’s condos may say differently. Back in 1981 Trump purchased a large building right off of Central Park in order to convert it into a condo. The tenants of the building refused to move, as was their right, and so Donald orchestrated five years of passive aggressive torture. He would refuse to have leaks fixed, he never took care of pests, and even told a construction crew to work every day at 7AM. Trump would culminate in letting homeless people squat in the building to try and push out tenants. He was sued in court.

from DailySportX 31 October 2016

Friday, November 11, 2016

In memory of November 11.

I still can't believe what they did to Randy and me.  Those precious hours that I was prevented from being with Randy before he died.  Why.  I still want to know why. Randy wanted to see me so who made the decision that I could not see him. Who, a broken medical system that controls 50% of our economy.  Who are these people.


I could not even see Randy on the sidewalk away from the hospital for a few minutes because it was too much work for our gigantic expensive health system designed for patients to arrange as I was banned from accessing all VCH properties. The first time I met Nurse Ratchet in 2010 when Randy was transferred from VCH to GPC she came down on me dictating that if I wanted to visit Randy, I would have to sign a visitor's contract.  Where did that come from: a visitor's contract.  Later I learned this is common practise.

We speak of the fallen soldiers this day.  What about Randy who believed in justice and in country and in family.  What about him.  What about him being badly treated by denying him his rights by our own government (health care system). They are not suppose to be the enemy. We should not be afraid of them.

What about the mothers in Ontario who spoke on national television that they are afraid to talk after being abused by health professionals when giving birth because their children might need medical attention later on.  What about them.

When people are afraid to talk, then the medical system is the enemy.


I am off to the November 11 memorial service at Hastings and Cambie ... Victory Square.

You do not have to be a soldier to die for your country.  Randy also died for his country.

1:OO PM

I just returned from Victory Square. I was in disbelief, in awe, at what I saw. It was amazing. The square was overrun with people.  Last time I went to a November 11th event at Victoria Square, maybe twenty years ago, there was relatively no one there.  This time, people everywhere.  Children and doggies and friendship. It energized me and my resolve to continue.  It is a movement: a societal shift from love of self to love of country.   Religion and family are being weakened and redefined.  We have an inert need to belong with a purpose.

We were told to leave our $2.00 poppies at the memorial.  My question:  are these poppies recycled.  No one could tell me.  They should be.









Friday, November 4, 2016

A post by a neuro-oncologist in Texas: the way it is



You heard it here first: the uninsured, underinsured, lower socioeconomic
white and minority groups who have no family support will be "encouraged"
to consider assisted suicide when it becomes legal. Why? because those
are the same people who are being neglected and murdered by our healthcare
system now.”


Physicians are under increasing pressure to not offer patients care.
Sometimes this pressure comes from the hospital or medical staff, sometimes
from the insurance company. One medical staff chief tried to force me to
withdraw from the hospital staff because the nursing staff had complained
to him that taking care of brain tumor patients is "depressing." Another
hospital tried to prevent my patients from being admitted to the ICU
because "it's a waste of resources." I have had numerous calls from
insurance case managers wanting to know why my patients were admitted
instead of being referred for hospice. One of my patients, a thirty year
survivor, was told by his insurance company that he should "consider"
hospice. And this is a man who has a KPS of 90 and has been in remission
over 25 years!



A like scenario happens in Canadian hospitals each day. 

from ALERT
 

Kathryn Judson, Oregon

Doctors use this type of rationalization to coerce DNRs and withdrawals of treatment.  Although the below happened in Oregon, I was a witness to it happening in Canada. 

Sometimes doctors take the lead in assisting suicide. The following classic letter from an Oregonian is an example.
"Dear Editor, 
Hello from Oregon. 
When my husband was seriously ill several years ago, I collapsed in a half-exhausted heap in a chair once I got him into the doctor's office, relieved that we were going to get badly needed help (or so I thought). 
To my surprise and horror, during the exam I overheard the doctor giving my husband a sales pitch for assisted suicide. 'Think of what it will spare your wife, we need to think of her' he said, as a clincher. 
Now, if the doctor had wanted to say 'I don't see any way I can help you, knowing what I know, and having the skills I have' that would have been one thing. If he'd wanted to opine that certain treatments weren't worth it as far as he could see, that would be one thing. But he was tempting my husband to commit suicide. And that is something different. 
I was indignant that the doctor was not only trying to decide what was best for David, but also what was supposedly best for me (without even consulting me, no less). 
We got a different doctor, and David lived another five years or so. But after that nightmare in the first doctor's office, and encounters with a 'death with dignity' inclined nurse, I was afraid to leave my husband alone again with doctors and nurses, for fear they'd morph from care providers to enemies, with no one around to stop them. 
It's not a good thing, wondering who you can trust in a hospital or clinic. Sincerely,
Kathryn Judson, Oregon"

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Choice is an Illusion, a blog

Many jurisdictions without legal assisted suicide (medical aid in dying) Bill C-14 already have a significant problem with some doctors and nurses administering lethal drugs to non-consenting, non-dying patients. Or use other questionable end-of-life possible options. 

If you can't control the abuses now, why would you give doctors and nurses more power to abuse patients by legalizing it?

What is happening goes beyond euthanasia, it is the blatant abuse that is an everyday "doubling" practice.  These professionals hasten death because they believe that is best for whatever reason and then they go home to their families and churches without regret.  

If a patient asks for euthanasia, then, it is an expedited "green light."


 


Thursday, October 13, 2016

How mean GPC was

I came across a memo dated February 2014 saying that a friend of mine and Randy's who was visiting Randy was told that he was not allowed to use his cell phone so Randy could hear my voice because Randy was not allowed to communicate with me.  This is how George Pearson Centre behaves.  Outrageous.  My bereavement over Randy's death is now escalating into a slow rage, justifiably so.  Who told Ro Ang to do this.  Ro Ang is the manager of George Pearson Centre and she caused us much pain and demoralisation and robbed us of being together during the last  months of his life. She managed to get me banned from George Pearson Centre. The staff was afraid of me as I might take a picture of them.  I could not see Randy. Instead of discussing any concerns she had, she reported me to the Public Guardian and Trustee. Why.  Randy was dying and she created a summit conference in January 2014 with the PGT to make sure I never saw Randy alive again.  And we must not forget that she was advised by VCH's lawyers that it was okay to do this. This woman did not even attempt to manage the situation. What did Richard say, zero tolerance.  I was 70-years old then. What did I do that was so grievous. What was grievous was Ro refusing to give me one of Randy's baseball caps (Steelers) so I could put it in his coffin.  No, that was not possible I was told because the cap was Randy's and not mine.  And, just as grievous was she would not let me go to Randy's memorial service or talk to any of Randy's friends.  Immediately after VCH had a meeting with the PGT in January 2014, I was 100% banned. These agencies are good at endorsing each other's recommendations "consults" that they can do what they want hyperbolized with "on the advice of its lawyer." The Public Guardian and Trustee supposedly an independent semi-judicial body, it is a body that has unique statutory powers, but it seems to do exactly what VCH expects of them.   Randy was a quad, could not talk as he had a tach, and he was often unresponsive because he was depressed.  They never asked me if Randy was depressed so they labelled him incompetent.  Of course, Randy would be depressed as he knew he was dying and he was prevented from seeing me.  Ro had a vindictive agenda, a path to ensure that I would never see Randy again. I can see her and her co-workers going to Whistler on a paid retreat to discuss me wanting to visit Randy and how to prevent it. Lamenting over drinks. I caught social workers laughing at me behind my back.  Perhaps, GPC concurred that it was in Randy's best interest to be divorced from me. That was not up to her to decide, it was up to Randy.  And to think she is still employed robbing others of their rights. Egregiously, mean.  But then she was of the opinion that Randy had no quality of life and that he should have a DNR/DNT on him. DNRs are dangerous as they can hasten death.


Help needed to tenant "teardowns"

One of my concerns is the lack of affordable rental housing.  In the Cambie, Granville, Oakridge neighbourhoods, there are hundreds of teardowns are vacant and could be rented even for a short period of time.  I was told that we should contact City Hall.

I have drafted out the following and if you so want can you call 311 and voice your opinion.

On Cambie I know of ten rental homes/houses on ONE block that are vacant because the new owners want to demolish them and rebuild.  The new owner might just want to flip them as it is easier to resell if the property is vacant. Or there maybe other reasons.

Such homes could be rerented until all the permits are issued which could take years. The may be  proposed $10,000 City fine for vacant units will not apply to teardowns. The vacant tax is designed for long term rentals not teardowns.


These homes are vacant, some are boarded up, they are an invitation to be vandalized, and for arson. Empty homes are a public safety issue.  A danger that the public purse will pay for.

The Riley Park housing complex (Little Mountain) was demolished eight years ago and it is still not developed.

Short term rentals would be good for students and families who are in housing transition.

Phone 311 "feedback" and ask 311 to message "Mayor and Council" and the "Housing Department." Say you want the teardowns to be rented until legitimate construction starts. Or email: housing@vancouver.ca.


Every call is put into the 311 data base for statistical purposes. 311 is open seven days a week from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

My cousin and the Power of Attorney Act

There it is:

19(3An attorney must do all of the following:
 
( ato the extent reasonable, give priority when managing the adult's financial affairs to meeting the personal care and health care needs of the adult;
( bunless the enduring power of attorney states otherwise, invest the adult's property only in accordance with the Trustee Act;
( cto the extent reasonable, foster the independence of the adult and encourage the adult's involvement in any decision-making that affects the adult;
( dnot dispose of property that the attorney knows is subject to a specific testamentary gift in the adult's will, except if the disposition is necessary to comply with the attorney's duties;
( eto the extent reasonable, keep the adult's personal effects at the disposal of the adult.

My cousin managed to break four of these terms.  I do not know about (b).

For those that have not read my posts about my cousin who put my aunt in a nursing home/assisted living home on numerous occasions from 2014 to 2016 (see (d)) in an attempt to sell her home from out from under her so that upon her death her home no longer existed.  Her designated beneficiary was her church.  He did not consult with her.  He also did not consult with her honestly when he arranged to dispose of my aunt's car which was in excellent condition although it was 50 years old.  It was not a pile of junk which is what he told my aunt. 

I blame the lawyer, Debra Burden, who drew the power of attorney who did not impress on my cousin what his duties were.  She should have had him sign off on the above clause.

The most important part of this is (c) he cannot do anything unless my aunt is aware of whatever he is doing.  She was and is competent.  He cannot go behind her back.  How dare he.

I would like to know why the Public Guardian and Trustee did not rescind Allan Barton's power of attorney. 

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Best interest for who

I came across a memo written by risk management in 2011 that said that it was going to allow me to be Randy's substitute decision maker as long as I had Randy's best interest.  What that means is as long as I agree to whatever VCH wants to do I could be his substitute decision maker.  It seems that a physician has legal arbitrariness to determine this.  Since I did not know anything medical, there was no fear of that. How could I, a rational person, go against what a doctor wants. I am not a health professional. I could comment on an observation respecting care but that is a remote outlier to a medical prognosis. Advocating for Randy, as he wanted to live, is not interferring with his care.  But it seems that according to VCH it was not in Randy's best interest to live.

How was it that Randy asked for a DNR to be placed on himself when he could not even talk or write and when he was unresponsive. When he was transferred from VGH to GPC on November 15 2013  he was not screaming that he wanted a DNR on him.  Not only a DNR but also a DNT (do not transfer order).  The DNT to guarantee if he was in medical distress that the nurses at GPC would not transfer him to acute care (VGH) so he could live. Randy was only 56 years at that time.

From the evidence from 2011 it is clear to me now but not then GPC was wanting to do damage control. The visiting ban would prevent me from seeing and hearing what was happening in the Ward.  For example, after I purchased a flat screenTV for Randy which I could ill afford it sat in a box for over a month.  It was not until a visitor phoned me and said "where is Randy's TV"....  And another time, a few days after Randy was first sent to George Pearson Centre, upon my visiting, Randy was very sick and it was I who brought this to the attention of the staff.  He immediately was transferred back to VGH. Then hell broke out for short period of time. There were numerous other narratives as well.

I just assumed that management was using incidents "red herring" that made no sense to me to have me banned (hours and days and access severely restricted) for being overly friendly which apparently upset patients, their families, and staff. The overly friendly part might be true but no one got upset. There was a big issue about wool bedding. About entering rooms when I had an implied invitation to do so.  And about flowers.  And about food.  Even a newspaper and a chair.   And the doggies. Doggies are allowed at VGH.  And the orchids I supposedly took from the garden. It got so bizarre that I was to be escorted to the toilet down a long hall when I went to visit Randy. So I decided to wear Depends.  I was also taking take a valium every time I went to GPC to curb my anxiety.

On the day I first met Nurse Ratchet at GPC in 2010 I was told that I would have to sign a visitation contract. I never did as she changed her mind. Randy had no rights, neither did I.  The rights only belonged to GPC.  They did everything possible to make me a basket case. I was negatively labeled and everyone acted as though I was to be avoided. I became a victim of prolonged psychological abuse by an alien fossilized institution that I did not understand. An institution that robs everyone of their civil rights "commonsense" including staff.

VCH took total advantage of an unequal playing field.  They abused their extreme superior power. It was brutal.  It was entrapment.  It was outrageous.  And they had a human hostage named "Randy."





Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Really! Intolerable pain isn't the only reason for euthanasia; not even close..

"Almost all patients are in hospice, and almost all take the medications at home after telling loved ones of their decision," said Dr Blanke, who provided an update on Oregon's experience here at the Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium (PCOS) 2016.
It is relatively rare for patients to use DWD because they were suffering from inadequate pain palliation, he explained. The most common reasons were related to quality of life, autonomy, and dignity."
Because of a few, they have put us at all at risk.  One does not have to die in pain unless one choses to.  

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Health Care Representation Agreement

This from the Health Professions Review Board:

2016-HPA-024(a); 2016-HPA-025(a); 2016-HPA-026(a); 2016-HPA-027(a) re: The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia(Group File No. 2016-HPA-G03)
Stage 1 hearing of an application for review of an Inquiry Committee disposition under s.50.6 HPA - Inquiry Committee disposition confirmed. The complaint to the College alleged that four Registrants ignored the Complainant’s designated health care representation agreement concerning his mother and that she was over-medicated with narcotics without proper consent. The mother subsequently passed away from numerous untreatable medical conditions. The original complaint concerned the actions of Registrant 1 and after the mother passed away was expanded to include the actions of three additional Registrants. The Inquiry Committee conducted a thorough investigation that provided key information. The investigation revealed the mother was experiencing significant severe pain on a constant basis and that treating health care staff were very distressed by her continued painful condition and the Complainant’s restriction on the use of pain analgesics through his enforcement of the health care representation agreement. Concerned that they were not acting in the mother’s best interests, on behalf of the mother, Registrant 1 removed the Complainant from the medical decision making role and began prescribing analgesics to alleviate her pain. In a disposition that is detailed, transparent, intelligible and justified the Inquiry Committee had no criticism of the Registrants’ actions. The investigation was deemed thorough and adequate. The disposition is detailed, transparent, intelligible and defensible with respect to the law and facts.
June 6, 2016 (Posted July 4, 2016)

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copy to Andrew Macfarlane, VCH. I have been asking you why I was stripped of my representation agreement and power of attorney and you have arrogantly refused to tell me.  Am I to assume from your decision that you can do this without due process. What was your legal justification.  In Randy's Representation Agreement he said that he did not want a DNR and yet VGH put a DNR on him.

According to the following, you are going to have to do some serious explaining.  From this HPA- 024 it would suggest that a representation agreement (the voice of the patient) can be overruled by a possee of doctors after the fact.  One of the reasons for refusal of drugs is that some patients do not want to take drugs as drugs dull their senses.

In Carter on page 66
[212] The Court concluded that provisions of the Ontario Mental Health Act, R.S.O. 1980, c. 262, granting a physician the authority to override the competent wishes of a patient where deemed to be in the patient's best interests, unjustifiably infringed the security of the person guarantee in s. 7 of the Charter. 

How was the complainant removed from the decision-making process in HPA-024.  By an invisible wave of the hand!

It is not what is in the best interest of the patient, it is what the patient wants.

What is the purpose of a representation agreement when doctors can overrule it at any time.   And it now seems that the BC high medical tribunal can also overrule the Charter. I think not.

On the flip side of this no mention was made whether or not the mother was competent to make medical decisions.  From what I understand, you can be incompetent to make financial decisions but you can still make medical decisions that can hasten your death. Am I mistaken in this belief.

In Carter on page 66
[212] The Court concluded that provisions of the Ontario Mental Health Act, R.S.O. 1980, c. 262, granting a physician the authority to override the competent wishes of a patient were deemed to be in the patient's best interests, unjustifiably infringed the security of the person guarantee in s. 7 of the Charter. 




Saturday, September 17, 2016

A first: A child comits euthanasia in Belgium.

Dr. Distelmans confirmed today that the first case of a child euthanasia has taken place in Belgium. Little is known as the case was held outside the public eye. What is known is that the child had a terminal disease and personally requested the euthanasia. It has not been made public what age the child was. The dossier is in Dutch which would indicate that it happened in one of the hospitals in the flemish speaking part of Belgium.

The news release can be found here: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20160916_02472929


Why don't we go back to a simpler time and legislate again that suicide is a criminal act.
 

Power of Attorney leads to perfect crimes

This is what is happening to the estate of my aunt.  My cousin who feels he has entitlement told me that he was selling my aunt's house out from under her.  This house was willed to her church.  My aunt will be 101 in December 2016. She lives in Vernon and has for 75 years. Ever since he took a real interest in her after he retired, he convinced her that she belonged in a nursing home.  He also convinced her doctor. Doctors do not look for potential financial abuse.  Allan told him he couldn't look after my aunt so she had to go to a nursing home. And there was no competent family. A lie.  He never consulted with anyone.  Besides her family was her church, not him.

When last I visited at her home she was mobile and was even preparing her own meals. She said that she wished Allan would just go to Chilliwack and be with his love interest. Even now although she is in a nursing home, she still is going out to the mall every Monday. I subsequentially found out she is in an assisted living facility so he lied again. She did not need nursing care.  She reads her WT religiously and attends religious meetings. When she lived in her home she had help, some paid, and other help from her church.  Allan even told her that she is not to phone me.  He won't even give me his Chilliwack address, his phone number, or his email address. After she is dead (a year later) he might let me knopw. Two years ago when I visited my aunt, her home was redecorated.  I asked her if she was selling her home and she said no. You do not redecorate unless you want to sell.  Allan wanted to refresh it, she said.  I could sense that she did not like the dark colours.  I asked her if she ever wanted to live in a nursing home.  She said no.  Randy had just died and I told my estranged brother to look into it.

My cousin told me on 4 July 2016 that he was selling her home and therefore I had no where to stay if I went to Vernon to visit.  He also had no place to stay which meant that he was abandoning her.  Later that evening I told my aunt did she know that Allan was selling her home.  She said no.  She said the home was to go to her church society after her death. He husband's orders. She also said that she did not know what a Power of Attorney was but she remembered signing it.  Why didn't her lawyer explain to her what it meant. My aunt trusted her lawyer. If Allan sold the property, then according to her will, there would be no house to be sold and her wishes would have been disrespected.  The $proceeds would go into a rabbit hole never to be seen again.

Prior to my cousin telling me he was selling my aunt's home, I offered to move to Vernon to live with her.  And he refused and the social worker in attendance would did not say anything. She only deferred in her ignorance to Allan and the fact that he had a power of attorney.  My aunt was  not incompetent so the power of attorney meant nothing.  It was up to the social worker to intervene and find what was in the best interest of my aunt and also what my aunt wanted.

When I would visit my aunt, so I wasn't an inconvenience, I brought my own sleeping bag and food.  And Helen reimbursed Allan for everything he took from her.  His trips back and forth to Chilliwack and Vernon, his accommodation, his food, he even had a dedicated Internet connection.  He never paid any attention to my aunt, he was busy on social media. When he visited, he only came out of his rabbit hole to be critical of our dysfunctional family. Be critical of her church.  Helen's church friends were intimidated by him including her paid staff.  I still would like to know what happened to my aunt's 50-year old car that was in mint condition closeted in her garage. There is some serious mischief going on.

And yes, Allan had insider information as to how to rip off old people.  He used to work prior to his retirement in a nursing home for 16 years.

In the post below they are talking about millions of dollars.  My aunt only had a modest home and modest pensions.  I do not have the $resources to pursue any legal avenues. A perfect crime. And the good niece is vilified and further denied information and access to her aunt.

 http://www.advisor.ca/tax/estate-planning/watch-for-elder-abuse-173323/2 



Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Was all this to keep me from speaking ..

I keep thinking about what happened with VCH and me.  I was naive and thought at my old age that we had freedom of speech.  Randy always said that I was stupid.  I am now convinced I was.  When he had a passey muir speaking valve inserted, the first word he said to me was "stupid."  And it is true.

I know of no other reason for this vendetta.  And it is still continuing... and the "one flew over the cuckoo's nest" will no longer be heard. That is a perfect description of how the health authorities manage not only in British Columbia but for every health authorities in Canada.  There used to be small health authorities but for economies of scale they became huge health authorities with huge budgets so they can do whatever they want. They became a shadow government with their own laws and regulations.  Doctors are afraid of them.  Lawyers are afraid of them.  The police are afraid of them. Our governments are even afraid of them. And they made me a basket case.

Forget globalization, I think we should go back to City states.

I am not suffering from depression.  I am suffering from oppression.






Sunday, September 11, 2016

Medical Error - the third leading cause of death in the US

The Legal Examiner posted an article by Wayne Parsons September 7 2016 that reported the third leading cause of death in the US is medical error.  So can we assume that one-third of all euthanasia deaths will also be medical errors.

Ro Ang

I keep thinking of how cruel she was towards me after Randy died.  She would not even give me one of Randy's articles so I could bury it with him.  She also  prevented me from attending his memorial service.  But then maybe it was VGH's lawyers who told her to do this.  Like watching Triumph's lawyer tell the world on international tv that he would not allow Trumph to show his tax returns.  A man who is running to be President of the USA being told by a lawyer what to do... I think not.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Competent or Not Competent

It seems to me that competency can vary depending on the outcome a physician wants.  One of the questions an assessor for competency will ask is if a patient knows how much money he has in his bank account.  How many of use know that. One would have to attend at a bank to be sure.  And is that a base to determine whether or not one is competent to make a complex medical decision.

Think about it.  Bill C-14 says a person has to be competent to kill himself and physicians say that they have to rush the killing as the person may become incompetent. How many people are going to be labelled competent when they are not.

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What is going to happen with euthanasia?  Will those that are incompetent be deemed competent for a short period of time and then be rushed to be killed before they become incompetent again. 

 



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