An 83-year old incompetent grandma was killed by euthanasia.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

On July 22, I published an article titled: My Family's Experience with Medical Assistance in Dying. 

On July 27, Kelsi Sheren published an article titled: The Last 10 days of Brigitte (GG) Stegemann.

On September 20, the Daily Mail published an article by Imogen Garfinkel titled: Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother was euthanized against her will under Canada's assisted dying system.

Garfinkel's article is based Brigitte Stegemann (83), who was killed by euthanasia and whose family are now challenging Canada's euthanasia system that approved and then killed their grandmother. Garfinkel writes:

Two days before her Christian grandmother’s assisted dying procedure in Ontario, Canada, Brigitte Kranendonk sat her down to make sure she knew exactly what was going to happen.

‘I used very frank terms. I said: “Do you know that you’re going to die on Friday?”'

The 83-year-old was in visible disbelief and began crying for 45 minutes. ‘I’ve made a mistake,’ Brigitte Stegemann, known affectionately to her family as ‘GG’ or ‘Oma’, wailed.

‘She was bawling. Inconsolable,’ Kranendonk, a real estate agent who shares the same first name with her late grandmother, tells the Daily Mail.

Brigitte Kranendonk, who was named after her grandmother explained to Garfinkel that even though her grandmother got every question wrong during a cognitive test, she was declared competent for the purpose of being killed. Garfinkel reports:

Yet 48 hours after she wept uncontrollably at the notion of MAiD, Stegemann is said to have died with her hands clasped in prayer, covered in her own blood due to a botched first attempt at connecting the IV, administered by a nurse allegedly not wearing gloves.

Brigitte is searching for answers and change. Garfinkel reports:

Kranendonk is currently in the process of desperately appealing to the Chief Coroner’s Office in Ontario, as well as the Patient Ombudsman and Belleville Police, in a bid to ascertain whether what happened the morning of July 10 at The Pearl care home in Cannifton was legal.

Bereaved and distraught, she claims MAiD practitioners took advantage of her grandmother’s vulnerability to perform the procedure, which she alleges was carried out without express consent.

‘She was a vulnerable human being, and they saw an opportunity,’ Kranendonk says, her rage and sadness visible.

Kranendonk suspects the MAiD practitioners were inappropriately ideologically motivated, and believes the chain of events leading up to the procedure should be investigated.

Kranendonk's is absolutely right about the ideological motivations of the MAiD practitioners. My experience with other families who are dealing with euthanasia decisions or grieving from a euthanasia death is that they speak about how the "MAiD team" convinced their loved one to agree to be killed. They use sales techniques to sell the killing as beautiful and peaceful while saying that the alternative will be a painful and horrific death.

Kranendonk suggests that her grandmother's euthanasia was the first one at “The Pearl, long-term care facility, formally known as EJ Mcquigge Lodge” in Belleville, Ontario and it is suggested that they just didn't know what they were doing.

But this was not the first killing for the euthanasia team. Nonetheless, Kranendonk describes how her grandmothers death was not peaceful and dignified. Garfinkel reports:

The moment of Stegemann's death was anything but peaceful, as she had once wished.

Recalling those nightmarish minutes, a traumatised Kranendonk speaks in the present tense, as if the procedure was still happening in slow motion.

'There was a phenomenal amount of blood,' she says, describing the way that the nurse failed to find the correct vein in the right arm to insert the IV, before switching to the left – but only after having 'poked her about three or four times with the needle'.

'It is all over my Oma's arm, it is all over her nightie, soaking through her pillow, all over the sheets, there is so much blood.

'And throughout all this time, mind you, the nurse is not wearing gloves.'

In case some of the readers are euthanasia lobby activists and think, it was her choice, you need to know that Kranendonk was not just a grandchild. Garfinkel explains:

Prior to Stegemann’s death that summer, Kranendonk had been her caregiver for 12 years, and her medical power of attorney for the past six.

A year and a half before her death, the family made the decision to house Stegemann in The Pearl as her physical and cognitive health began to deteriorate.

In February, she was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. But doctors were not certain about whether the diagnosis meant she had six months to live, or as much time as two years.

For the past decade, Kranendonk had been carefully monitoring what her grandmother ate to keep her healthy, including limiting her sugar intake.

Following the cancer diagnosis, she changed tack and allowed her to eat whatever she craved, deciding she just wanted her grandmother to feel as ‘joyful’ as possible in her final stage of life.

Kranendonk had cared for her grandmother for 12 years and was her power of attorney for her for 6 years. Also, Kranendonk explains that her grandmother had previously said no to MAiD based on: 

her religiosity, and the notion of displeasing God, was a large factor in why her German-born grandmother instinctively opposed assisted dying.

It wasn't until Kranendonk, went on a 10-day road trip that everything changed. Garfinkel reports:

Everything seemed normal. She picked up numerous phone calls, and the doctors didn't discuss a dramatic decline in Stegemann’s health – only that she had fallen over and would need a wheelchair.

But towards the end of the trip, on July 3, Kranendonk received a different kind of call. It was from the home, saying they were going to book a MAiD assessment for her grandmother.

When she returned she learned that her grandmother had already had her first euthanasia assessment. When she asked a nurse who had introduced the topic of euthanasia the nurse responded:

‘The nurse became very abrasive, very defensive,' Kranendonk recalls. 'She was like, "Well, I’m just trying to advocate for her. I’m just trying to do what’s right for her."'

Kranendonk felt that the nurse was pushing death. Garfinkel reported her as stating:

'I truly believe that one nurse really saw us as an obstacle,' she says. 'We were getting in the way of her doing MAiD on my grandmother. I think she really, truly believes that MAiD is the best for people, and shame on me for trying to stop that.'

Selling death.

The law requires that a person who asks to die must clearly request, be informed and be competent. Kranendonk explains how none of this was true:

Kranendonk made sure she was in the room for the second MAiD assessment, and it was there where she noticed the doctor speak in ‘really loose terms, never using the words death or dying’.

‘She explains MAiD to my grandmother by saying: “We’re going to give you medicine, you’re going to feel at peace. And I just want you to know that you won’t have a bowel movement.”'

‘She’s saying it in these strange terms, that aren’t literal,’ Kranendonk says, adding: ‘My Oma’s just kind of nodding. Her first language is not English, she is 83-years old and severely hearing-impaired.’

Kranendonk looked at the doctor, and said: 'She doesn’t understand what you’re saying.'

That’s when the doctor allegedly turned to the grandmother, and offered: ‘We’re going to make sure you won’t have any more pain.’

During the cognitive assessment, which she also sat in on, Kranendonk claims that the questions were curiously designed, in that the doctor couldn’t immediately verify the answers.

As opposed to questions such as who the prime minister was, or that day's date, the grandmother was asked personal questions, like how many siblings she had.

‘But none of that is in her records. They would not know if the information was correct, or not,’ Kranendonk says.

Even so, Stegemann got the answers wrong.

She said she had no siblings, despite having 13.

The doctor asked how many were still alive, and Stegemann answered, saying none.

But two are still alive, and the grandmother had seen one only a month and a half before.

‘So we're going through this assessment. None of the answers could be proven, unless I was there. 

Kranendonk was then asked to leave the room, during the assessment. She was sure that her grandmother had failed the cognitive test

But four minutes after the cognitive test was complete, the doctor announced that Stegemann was 'deemed fit for MAiD, and we're going to proceed'.

Kranendonk was assured that her mother could change her mind at any time.

Pushing death. Garfinkel reports:

On Wednesday, Kranendonk woke up after barely sleeping and prepared to visit her grandmother.

But before she had a chance to enter the home, she got a call from the nurse, who said they planned to fast-track her grandmother's death to Thursday – simply because the doctor had an early opening.

'I was like: "I'm not talking about this right now, I'm on my way to visit my Oma."'

The nurse replied: 'Oh, well, I already spoke to your Oma, and she agreed.'

But Thursday wouldn't have allowed enough time for Stegemann's pastor to arrive, or her son – depriving her of her dying wishes to be surrounded by her loved ones and prayer.

Kranendonk said Thursday wasn't an option, so Friday was kept as the death date.

Stegemann was not imminently dying, so the only reason to fast-track the death date was to get it done before she changed her mind.

Kranendonk then went to the "care" home and demanded the euthanasia paperwork, but no paperwork was shared with her. She doesn't know if there was a valid signature or who the witnesses were.

She then spoke to her grandmother. Garfinkel explains:

Following the altercation with the manager, Kranendonk confronted her grandmother and explained what would be happening on Friday in vivid terms.

The conversation caused her to breakdown in tears and admit that she had made a mistake. 'I just kept saying there's no mistake, there's no mistake. You don't have to do this.

'The doctors are coming on Friday, and you just say no,' Kranendonk recalls pleading.

But it got to a point where Kranendonk didn't want to 'keep fighting MAiD, and lose sight of who I'm fighting for'.

Her grandmother was unwell, and confused, so she made the decision to just try and experience all the precious quality time she could have with Stegemann – while she still had a chance.

And crucially, she trusted the nurses to not take advantage of the ailing woman. 

Kranendonk said that both her and her grandmother were vulnerable and she decided to make the best of the situation. Garfinkel reports:

On Thursday, the pair danced together to traditional German Polka music and ate ice-cream in her room.

'We had the best day,' Kranendonk recalls, tearfully. 'I felt great leaving on Thursday.'

But she went home utterly confused. On the one hand, she was elated she had such a fantastic day with her grandmother.

But on the other hand, she couldn't bear the possibility of what might happen the next day.

'I was so split. Part of me was like, maybe it's not going to happen. And then there was this underlying feeling of, oh God, what if it does?'

Kranendonk has examined the reality and stated:

In hindsight, she felt like she was in an unworkable situation. She at once wanted the best for her grandmother and wanted to respect her autonomy, but was terribly concerned that she had never once heard her say, out loud and clearly: 'I want MAiD.'

'All I saw was her not understanding the process,' Kranendonk recalls.

Friday July 10. The day of death. Garfinkel reports

When Friday, July 10 arrived, everything felt rushed again. The family took Stegemann out into the residential home's garden to share strawberry ice-cream – her favourite – and the pastor arrived, who started a round of prayers.

'She's very confused at this point,' Kranendonk remembers.

At 9.30am – after 10 minutes of being outside – the MAiD nurse asked for the family to return indoors, despite the fact that they were told the doctor would not arrive until 11am.

The nurse said that she needed time to get the IV started, and Kranendonk remembers telling her forcefully that they were not finished having time together as a family.

'Well, how long do you need?' she claims the nurse said, rather dismissively, in response.

Once back inside the home, the nurse started the IV, Kranendonk alleges. According to Kranendonk, the doctor hadn't even arrived, and her grandmother was not asked if she gave consent for the procedure to begin.

The nurse struggled to insert the IV into Stegemann's right arm, and ended up piercing her repeatedly with the needle before attempting her left arm.

Kranendonk remembers in graphic detail the copious amount of blood, which made the whole procedure feel strangely unprofessional.

'She's asking us to hand her things, to flush out the needle. So we're now a part of this. She's asking us to grab things for her, and to hold things for her.

'This nurse is not wearing gloves. There's blood all over her hands, there's blood all over the place,' she says, horrified by the memory.

The doctor then entered the room and told Stegemann she was there to give her 'medicine', and asked if that was okay with her.

'My Oma is not moving. She doesn't open her eyes. She doesn't nod. She doesn't say anything, and the doctor just said: "Okay, well, I'm going to proceed."'

Within 10 minutes, Stegemann was pronounced dead. Due to how unresponsive she was, Kranendonk doesn't know if her grandmother died shortly before the MAiD, because of the MAiD, or whether she was just in deep prayer.

She says that no heartbeat was taken, before or after the procedure.

Did Brigitte Stegemann know what MAiD actually was? Kranendonk told Garinkel: 

'What was concerning, though, is that that morning, I was crying. My grandmother looked at me and said, "If you don't stop crying, I'm not going to sleep tonight." She said that to me on Friday morning.'

The article finishes with Kranendonk outlining some of the concerns with her grandmother's death:

She has subsequently learn't that nurses are strictly prohibited from pressuring a patient to pursue MAiD, and that all the correct paperwork for MAiD to take place must be submitted before a death date can be determined.

Stegemann's paperwork was completed after her death, her granddaughter claims.

'She did not consent the morning of the procedure,' Kranendonk says, steadfast in her conclusion that her grandmother was euthanised against her will.

She has consistently asked The Pearl to hand over her grandmother's medical records, but all of her requests have been refused, she says.

She regrets not applying for a legal injunction to prevent the MAiD from occurring, but she also didn't realise she had the right to ask for one at the time.

'I was flying blind,' she says. And crucially, her grandmother still needed medical attention in those final weeks.

'We live in Canada, where medical care is not always easy to get. She still needed medical care. I could not just scoop her up and bring her home,' she says.

She trusted the government, and the medical establishment, not to take advantage of her grandmother. In the months since July, that trust has completely shattered.

The article ends with Garinkel reporting that A spokesman for Belleville Police told the Daily Mail: 'This incident is currently open and under investigation with our Criminal Investigations Division. We are unable to provide any additional information at this time.'

If this was the only concerning story about Canada's euthanasia regime, then it would be tragic and worth investigating, but nonetheless a reality. But this is one of a massive number of concerning euthanasia stories in Canada and Canada's killing machine only continues to grow and speed up.

MAiD (euthanasia) should never be legal. To give medical professionals the right in law to kill their patients is lethal and not safe. One of the strongest messages from Kranendonk's experience is how the "MAiD team" appeared to be ideologically motivated.

Canada now has a small group of doctors and nurse practitioners who do a lot of killing. That small group has drank the kool-aid and are convinced that euthanasia has made them "angels of mercy."

The truth is that many of these medical professionals have become medical serial killers and the legalization of euthanasia has MAiD it possible.

Sadly, death cannot be reversed. Brigitte Stegemann cannot be brought back. Her real intentions and understanding will never be known and her death is one of many horrific Canadian euthanasia deaths.