Elder Abuse Exposed in All Its Horror (CANADA)

Elder abuse exposed in all its horror

By Carol Goar

 He knew his presentation was upsetting. He expected his video – a graphic depiction of the crime scene and victim – to produce shock and revulsion. He was unapologetic.

"Physical abuse is not a pretty sight," said Constable Pierre Parenteau. "But that's what we're talking about, so let's not censor it."

The Moncton RCMP officer was the lead speaker at a two-day conference on elder abuse. He told the story of Kathleen Grant, a 77-year-old woman who literally rotted to death in a living room chair. Her daughter Margaret, her sole caregiver, watched her sit there for five months, as gangrene consumed her feet and legs. The mother, helpless and isolated, ate, slept, urinated and defecated in the chair.

Finally, when Kathleen Grant was struggling to breathe, her daughter finally called 911. Paramedics found the patient suffering from malnourishment and septic shock. The flesh on her legs was decomposing rapidly. Bone was exposed in a few places. Her body was caked with feces.

Doctors in the emergency ward fought to save her life, while hospital authorities called the police. That was where Parenteau came in.

When he entered the Grants' apartment, the stench was nauseating. He steeled himself and collected evidence, including 130 pictures. Most depicted the soiled, stinking chair. Some showed the cane, the walker and the bucket (used to relieve herself until that became impossible) that marked the phases of her decline. A few conveyed the general squalor. The one clue he could not preserve, to his regret, was the overpowering smell.

Kathleen Grant died five days after being admitted to the hospital.

Before her death, she managed to give Parenteau a brief statement. She was apologetic about the mess in the apartment and sorry for the trouble she had caused. She thought it was all her fault.

Her daughter, Margaret, agreed vehemently. She said her mother was a stubborn woman who refused to go to the hospital. "I couldn't force her to get help."

After an exhaustive investigation, the RCMP charged Margaret Grant, 49, with criminal negligence causing death and homicide by criminal negligence. Her lawyer plea-bargained the charges down to failing to provide the necessaries of life. She was found guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison.

This tragedy raised many of the questions society needs to ask about elder abuse:

• Why did nobody do anything?

(Please go to Source, for full-text and many more articles on this issue)

Thank you Carol, for the write up on Elder Abuse.

Abridged

SOURCE:    The Toronto Star

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