A Christian grandmother received euthanasia against her will after failing a cognitive assessment test, a requirement for MAID patients to ensure they are of sound mind. Originally reported by Kelsi Sheren, an anti-MAiD advocate and later by the Daily Mail, two days before an Ontario woman's grandmother received MAiD, on July 10, Brigitte Kranendonk confronted her asking whether her grandmother knew what was about to happen to her."I used very frank terms. I said: 'Do you know that you’re going to die on Friday?'" recalled Kranendonk.The 83-year-old was in disbelief, and began crying for over half an hour."I’ve made a mistake," stated Brigitte Stegemann, known in the family as "GG" or "Oma."."She was bawling. Inconsolable," remembered Kranendonk.In the mandatory cognitive assessment, Stegemann had "got every question wrong," in one instance believing her two siblings were dead, claimed Kranendonk.It was only 48 hours after Stegemann wept inconsolably to her granddaughter at even the notion she would be euthanized that Stegeman 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, adminsitered by a nurse not wearing gloves.Kranendonk is now in the process of attempting to appeal to the Chief Coroner's Office in Ontario, the Patient Ombudsman, an independent organization that helps resolve complaints from patients, and the Bellville Police..The appeal is an effort to discover whether what happened the morning of July 10 at The Pearl care home in Bellville, where Stegemann received MAiD, was legal.Kranendonk 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," stated Kranendonk.She suspects the MAiD practitioners were inappropriately ideologically motivated and believes the chain of events leading up to the procedure should be investigated..Practitioners and the care home maintain that Stegemann had legally consented to the procedure, though both have not commented publicly."No one had ever done MAiD at this residential home before: this was their very first MAiD procedure," stated Kranendonk."So I don’t know if they just dropped the ball, because they didn’t know what they were doing.""There was a phenomenal amount of blood," Kranendonk described the procedure, with the nurse failing to find the correct vein in the right arm to insert the IV, before switching to the left — but only 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 another incident earlier in February, Kranendonk recounted another time she had to convince her grandmother to receive a medical port, a small device placed under the skin to provide a direct pathway for medicine to reach the vein.After it was fitted, the 83-year-old ripped it off, screaming, "I don’t want the death shot!".Kranendonk had been Stegemann's caregiver for 12 years and had medical power of attorney for her for the past six years prior to her grandmother's death.A year and a half before her death, Stegemann's family had decided to place her in a long term care facility due to her cognitive and physical health declining.Five months before her death, Stegemann had been diagnosed with stage four untreatable stomach cancer.Kranendonk had attempted to limit her grandmother's sugar intake for over a decade to keep her healthy, though after Stegemann's cancer diagnosis she changed her tune because she wanted her grandmother to feel as "joyful" as possible in her final stages of life. .Roughly two months before Stegemann's death, a meeting was held to discuss the possibility of MAiD, with Kranendonk speaking with her grandmother explaining in full all of her options including MAiD, and detailing what the procedure would entail.She recollects her grandmother stating clear as day: "No, I don't want that."Kranendonk accounts for her German-born grandmother's religiosity and notion of displeasing God was a large reason why Stegemann instinctively opposed euthanasia.Then June came along, with Kranendonk going on a 10-day road trip with her husband..Previous times when Kranendonk was away, she received frequent phone calls from the residential home regarding her grandmother's health.Everything seemed normal during her trip — Kranendonk received multiple calls and the doctor did not mention any major decline in her grandmother'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 call from the home — informing Kranendonk they were going to book a MAiD assessment for her grandmother.According to the home, Stegemann's health had seriously deteriorated..Once Kranendonk had gotten back from her trip, she went to the home and confronted a nurse who worked at the home who had initiated the MAiD conversation."The nurse became very abrasive, very defensive," Kranendonk recalled."She was like, 'Well, I’m just trying to advocate for her. I’m just trying to do what’s right for her.'"Soon after she learned Stegemann had already undergone her first MAiD consultation.."No one called me," Kranendonk said, asserting she felt isolated from the whole process from the beginning.While her grandmother was certainly sick, Kranendonk privately questioned whether what the nurse had told her was true since she found it hard to believe her grandmother's decline could have happened so quickly. "I noticed that she had lost weight when I saw her after returning, but she had slowly been losing weight for a while.""Regarding her rapid decline, I am not a doctor, but when I came back she was still eating, walking to the bathroom, very talkative and full of jokes."."She never complained about pain in front of me, except when her stomach was being relentlessly pressed."Kranendonk maintains her grandmother never made a formal request for MAiD by herself.Yet every time Kranendonk questioned MAiD being the right path for her grandmother, she was made to feel crazy or burdensome by the medical professionals at the home."I truly believe that one nurse really saw us as an obstacle," stated Kranendonk.."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."During the second MAiD assessment, Kranendonk made sure she was in the room, noticing 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 pointed out."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."This is when the doctor turned to Kranendonk's grandmother and allegedly extended: "We’re going to make sure you won’t have any more pain.".During the cognitive assessment, which she sat in on, Kranendonk claimed the questions were oddly designed, with responses the doctor could not immediately verify.As opposed to easily verifiable questions, like who the prime minister was and what was today's date, Stegemann 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," stated Kranendonk.Even so, Stegemann got the answers wrong..Stegemann said she had no siblings — despite having 13.The doctors then asked her how many were still alive, Stegemann answered, saying none.In reality, two are still alive, Stegemann seeing one of them a month and a half prior."So we're going through this assessment. None of the answers could be proven, unless I was there."."There was nothing concrete. They're supposed to be doing a cognitive assessment, and yet they picked questions that they can't verify."According to MAiD guidelines, a patient must be of sound mind and have a "grievous and irremediable medical condition" to be eligible for euthanasia.Eventually, Kranendonk was asked to leave the room by the doctor, who then continued the test.Waiting outside the door, Kranendonk was sure Stegemann would fail the test..But minutes after the test had finished, the doctor announced that Stegemann was "deemed fit for MAiD, and we're going to proceed."Later that day, Stegemann confused the names of her daughter and granddaughter."I was astonished that she was given the okay," Kranendonk reflects back on that day, July 7.The doctor assured Kranendonk that her grandmother could "deny" MAiD on the day of her procedure, scheduled for later that week Friday, July 10, at 11 am. .In the events that followed, Kranendonk was determined to ascertain whether her grandmother had truly consented to MAiD, without causing undue stress for the 83-year-old.Most of all, she wanted to cherish the time she had left with her beloved Oma, who she had lived with as a child.Every summer and long weekend throughout her childhood she had spent with her grandparents, and the thought of losing her Oma was heartbreaking."Like, I'm already on limited time with her. So there's this balance, of wanting to get her to understand, and also still wanting to protect her – to not make her upset.".On Wednesday, running on little sleep, Kranendonk woke and got ready to go visit her grandmother at the home.Before she could do that, the nurse from the home called her, informing Kranendonk they were planning to fast track her grandmother's death to Thursday — 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.'""Oh, well, I already spoke to your Oma, and she agreed," replied the nurse..But Thursday would not allow enough time for Stegemann's pastor and son to arrive, depriving her of her dying wishes to be surrounded by her loved ones and prayer.Kranendonk stated Thursday wasn't an option, and kept Friday as the death day.Kranendonk described feeling very concerned, as she was trying to protect her grandmother but the nurse was making her feel like an obstacle in everyone's way.She felt stressed and overwhelmed, as if she had no control..That same day, Kranendonk marched up to the home's manager, complaining the process felt sped up and lacked transparency. She also demanded to see the MAiD paperwork and see who was filling it in.The manager claimed everything had been filled out a day prior, with her grandmother signing it.To this day Kranendonk has not seen the paperwork allegedly signed by her grandmother — agreeing to the procedure — all of which was completed without any family members present.."I don't know who the witness was. I don't know how they explained the paperwork to her. I don't know what they said to her. I have no idea," Kranendonk claimed, describing now what she believes to be lapses in what the proper MAiD procedure should be. "I'm sorry. How can we make this better for you?" the manager asked Kranendonk."You guys have taken this whole MAiD thing and have just rammed it down our throats," Kranendonk responded in disbelief.After the altercation Kranendonk went to talk with her grandmother, explaining in vivid terms what was set to happen to her on Friday. .In response, her grandmother broke down in tears, saying there had been a mistake."I just kept saying there's no mistake, there's no mistake. You don't have to do this," stated Kranendonk."The doctors are coming on Friday, and you just say no."However, she says it got to the point where Kranendonk didn't want to "keep fighting MAiD, and lose sight of who I'm fighting for.".Kranendonk's grandmother was unwell and confused, so she decided she would try and experience all the precious time with her grandmother she would get.As well, she trusted the nurses to not take advantage of an ailing woman."My Oma wasn't the only vulnerable one in that situation – I was. I was vulnerable in the loss and love of my grandmother, being her care provider, and I was vulnerable in trusting that they were making the right decisions.""It all felt so sped up and in slow motion at the same time.".On Thursday, the pair danced together to traditional German polka dance and ate ice cream in Stegemann's room."We had the best day," Kranendonk remembers, tearfully."I felt great leaving on Thursday."But she ended up going home extremely confused, on one hand — she was happy she had such a fantastic day with her grandmother..On the other, she couldn't bear the thought 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?"Since her grandmother's death, many have asked Kranendonk why she didn't try harder to stop her grandmother from being euthanized.In retrospect, she was in a very difficult situation — she wanted to respect her grandmother's autonomy, while still wanting the best for her grandmother, while still being terribly concerned since she had never heard Stegemann say out loud clearly: "I want MAiD."."All I saw was her not understanding the process."The day of July 10, everything about Stegemann's MAiD procedure felt rushed."She's very confused at this point," recalls Kranendonk.At 9:30 am, 10 minutes after the family had been outside, the MAiD nurse asked them to return indoors, despite the fact they had been told the doctor would not arrive until 11 am.The nurse claimed she needed time to get the IV started, while Kranendonk remembers telling her forcefully they were not done having family time with their grandmother. ."Well, how long do you need?" Kranendonk claims the nurse replied dismissively.Once back inside the home, the nurse started the IV, alleged Kranendonk.According to her, the doctor hadn't even arrived yet, and her grandmother had not been asked for consent for the procedure to begin.The nurse then struggled to insert Stegemann's IV into her right arm, and ended up piercing her repeatedly with the needle before attempting her left arm..Kranendonk recalls the copious amounts of blood which made the procedure feel oddly 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."The doctor then entered the room and told Stegeman he was going to give her "medicine," and if this 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 her unresponsiveness prior to the procedure, Kranendonk does not know whether her grandmother died before MAiD, because of MAiD, or whether she was just in deep prayer. Kranendonk claims no heartbeat was taken before or after the procedure.."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."It was only in the aftermath of her grandmother's death Kranendonk — overwhelmed with grief — began to believe something had gone horribly wrong. She then learned nurses are strictly prohibited from pressuring patients into MAiD.As well, all the correct MAiD paperwork must be submitted prior to the patient's death date being determined — Kranendonk claims Stegemann's paperwork was not completed until after her death.."She did not consent the morning of the procedure."Kranendonk has also asked many times for the home to hand over her grandmother's medical records, but she claims all her requests have been shot down. She also says she regrets not filing a legal injunction to prevent MAiD from occurring, but she didn't realize she had the right to do so."I was flying blind."."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," Kranendonk stated.Kranendonk now says she is sharing her story as a way to give education to care providers who find themselves in a similar scenario.A spokesperson 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."In response, the leader of the federal opposition, Pierre Poilievere had this to say on X, "This is disgusting. We have a sworn duty to protect the most vulnerable."."This story demands action. The Liberal government must strengthen and enforce safeguards to protect vulnerable Canadians from pressure and abuse," he went on to say.
