JMJ
January 04,2014
The following article was written at the request of senior health officials in the province. They have already forwarded to appropriate people and have blanket permission to continue to do so.
Dec.31,2013
Re; Arthur Morin Memorial Clinic, Southend, Reindeer Lake, Sask.
These events will not necessarily be chronological.They will not necessarily be in order of importance. I have used actual names but if I choose to publish them in whole or part I will delete actual names unless permission is granted.
1.Patsy Caswell, now Sister Mary Judith O.P. While playing ball a boy swung a bat and hit her wrist. It was left until next morning . I was obvious that something was serious. We took her to the clinic ( 45km. North) early in the morning. She was left waiting untiill everyone else was served. It was obvious there were no serious emergencies. At noon the clinic was emptied so they took a look at her wrist. They told her she should be taken to La Ronge. (222 km South). We took her. A cast was put on there.
2. Mrs. Caswell. In 1998 I fell back in a cabin with bunk beds. Our school and home were two cabins. I heard a snap and I couldn’t walk. Nathan,our son found my husband who was helping to shingle a roof. John and son Nathan took me to the van. John took me to the clinic. I was put on a chair with my foot dangling where I waited for sometime. A nurse eventually looked at my foot, did not secure it in any way and told us we had to go to La Ronge/ Before we got there the staff had been told that my foot was broken because my husband beat me up. He was given hostile looks when he entered, There in La Ronge I had x-rays, stayed overnight and went by ambulance to Royal University Hospital. There they put in two metal plates and at least five long screws, had a row of stitches on both sides and a cast. I had a fiberglass cast . We lived in a cabin without running water. I kept getting bills for the cast . I epxlained that such a cast is needed because I have to go outside and a plaster one would get wet. We had very little money so even this was quite a large bill for us to pay . We never did. We had to have another trip to Saskatoon which we did/ I took up the cast myself.
3. Mrs. Caswell,. In 2004, Dec.06 I slipped on the icy step of our home. I banged my left ankle. John took me to the clinic. They told me that I had to go to La Ronge. Our vehicle was very unreliable so I asked for a medical taxi. That was refused. I asked for crutches to help to get in and out of vehicles. That was refused. They said that they didn’t have any. I In these trips if we had just gone to La Ronge it would have cut out 90 miles . Some more hard ware was put in my left ankle and I got another cast. on my left ankle. While I was waiting for the procedure John brought me the mail to sort. The nurse got mad and said that I couldn’t bring that into the hospital. When I left I had crutches. No one would help me leave or even open the door. I took off the cast myself.
4. Mrs. Linda Cook. Linda had thirteen children. Her last child, Michael, was born with cataracts and some other problems. He had been back and forth to Royal University Hospital. He died when a few months old. Linda got pregnat again. She was told that she had to have an abortion because this one would be just like the last one. There was no evidence for this. She refused. She was taken to City Hospital. Three times she ran away. She didn’t know anyone in Saskatoon, hadn’t heard of Birthright,or any pro- life group. Still she was willing to face a totally unfarmiliar world to avoid killing her baby.
On whose orders was she put in the taxi and in what pretext? If she had known that she was going to Saskatoon to be forced into abortion she would have hidden in the bush. Her husband and family would have helped hide her.
On whose orders was she hunted down and returned to the hospital?
Why did no one at City Hospital recognise that she was being coerced into an abortion and stop it?
What was the Hospital sraff told of her family ( a very industrious, intellegent group) ? What was the source of their information?
Her baby was killed and she was sterilised by physical coercion. She came home severely wounded. She wanted a baby so badly and tried to have a baby of a girl who was neglecting hers while she was drinking and doing drugs. She was very distraught and was obviously suffering physically and mentally. As a faithful Catholic she told the priest of her persecution. He told her to tell us. He knew that we would try to expose the evil. We made it public a few ways.
She was given medicine from the clinic which burned a hole in her stomach. Her family knew that she was very sick. This went on for some days. Some of her sisters are staff at the clinic. She was not transferred out or given a medical taxi.
People knew that she was on the verge of death. One night she died at home in bed. The clinic and staff are half a block away.
The family talked of suing the clinic but nothing was done about it. They had and have no revenue or resources to find a lawyer who will go against a band institution. They knewe there would be many repercussions. Their family would be denied future medical care. proper marks at school, refusals for post secondary education, band employment or welfare
et c.
We considered Linda one of our best friends. Many of her children went to the mission’s St. Mary’s Bible Club and to Camp Commitment. Her death caused me so much anger that I couldn’t trust myself to go to her wake and funeral. I wrote a blog about her situation and published it in our Brabant Lake Times. Some people tried to put pressure on the RCMP to charge me with something because I wrote the article. Corporal Williams told them that I hadn’t broken any law. He did phone and say that it was considered by some too close after the funeral. He wasn’t really critical but obviously did it as a nod to pressure. I have talked about it may times. Some expected allies let me know that they are not interested, that native people have too many people. I am never going to stop talking about this and consider it the most serious issue concerning the misuse of power of the clinic and City Hospital. It strikes me as worthy of serious criminal investigation.
Is this a common occurrence? Who is approving coerced abortion and sterilisation? What route and personnel are being used to successfully force abortion and sterilisation on some people?
5. When I was attending Teacher’s College and living in a native area I have had trouble with blood poisoning. The neighbours were drinking excessively . A woman was cut with a beer bottle and taken to the hospital. I cleaned up the floor thick with blood. In the process I cut my knee on glasss and got and got blood poisoning.
I have had bouts of it after a spider bite and after other situations. I saw the familiar red trail, had dizzy spells and was getting a fever. John took me to the clinic at the same time he was taking some people to court. We often do this as a service since many people don’t have vehicles and get into more trouble for missing court.
We stopped at the clinic and he went on. I used the bathroom and waited to ask for antibiotics. Two nurses, one a male oriental with a tatoo encountered me. They said that I could have the antibiotics if I admitted that I was pregnant. I said that I didn/t know if I was and it shouldn’t make any difference. They kept at it. They weren’t concerned about giving me an unsafe drug but just kept saying I had to admit that I was pregnant. I have a clear voice that carries well and there is little room for privacy at the clinic. I deliberately began to speak louder so people would know what is happening. I said that I refused and walked out without getting any antibiotics.
I went to the court and sat by the woman who had a court issue. I was holding her baby and was feeling more and more sick. Mrs. Darlene ( George) Cook came to the court and gave me antibiotics. I took some immediately. I never saw that male nurse again. Darlene Cook later was not working at the clinic. I don’t know why she was no longer there.
6. I have had a long history of hypoglycemia and used to watch my diet carefully. But since we came up North it was difficult to afford a high protein diet or cook for seven to 30 people as well as for myself. So I developped a habit of cooking, canning and baking using sugar. I didn’t realise that I was getting into a dangerou habit. Once again a red streak starting at at a toe was traveling upward. We went to the clinic. The nurse took my blood sugar and said it was very high. She consulted with some doctor by phone then said that she needed to take it again. She did so. She said that I was to see Dr. Spooner on Thursday. I said that I couldn’t make it make it because I have to teach.
We run a mission school. We receive no pay but are very deligent not to miss. We have no substitute teacher. I did not want to see Dr. Spooner because I didn’t trust her I knew that she was opposed to me because of my views on various issues. Then I heard from my son in Chicago who had heard it from my daughter in Saskatoon that I had registered positive on a pregnancy test. He laughed and said you don’t need Dr. Spooner. Other people in the North through clinic staff knew that I was pregnant. The clinic never told me.
I have had many miscarriages and continued to have regular cycles for a long time. I know when I’m pregnant but since they result in miscarriages I don’t discuss them. I am afraid, quite correctly, that people will insist that I be sterilised. The closest explanation I have read was an article on Molar Pregnancies which use to be very common in the Singapore area. Dor sometime Dr. Spooner was communicating with our daughter without our knowledge and was working at recruiting her to a pro- abortion position . She told her that I couldn’t be pregnant and must have psychological problem. Dr. Spooner has since retired. Unfortunately her attitude did not go with her. Needless to say a positive pregnancy test was alarming. I am seen as a very bad example to those who believe women,northern and native women especially should have only one or two children and then be sterilised. We have seven living children. We promote traditional Catholic values on reproduction issues. Many people believe that these views shouldn’t even be mentioned,especially in the North .
7. When I was canning in August,2011 I burned an area on my stomach because I was too close to the hear of the burner. The burn became infected. I asked for antibiotics. They gave me antibiotics that I have taken for many reasons. The burn continued to be infected. It oozed green and yellow pus. My gums became infected. One toe became black . I went back to the clinic several times. They gave me more of the same pills. Usually antibiotics work really quickly. In two weeks I usually am well. The burn wasn’t going away . I asked for more bandages. They would give me a few or have a taxi drop off some. Sometime the taxi would forget and John would chase him down around town. We have watched him make illicit drug connections. After three months nothing was getting better. I said that I thought I should have another kind of antibiotic, that sufla drugs or penicillin should be used even though I avoided them thinking that from the first incident of blood poisoning I was allergic to them. The nurse ignored me and handed me more of the same. We had no resources to travel elswehere but in other incidences those same antibiotics worked effectively when I got them from My Pharmacy Drug Store or at a clinic in Connecticut when we were visiting our sons. The drugs now did nothing. I had infected sinuses and a very sore throat. To continue to teach I was used Halls with sugar since that was the only kind available. My foot was swollen. I could hardly walk. The black toe was rotting. My blood from the burn and my gums was orange. There were streaks from my toes. The gauze bandages we put on my toes were smeling horrible. We soaked my feet in hot salt water but that wasn’t enough..John took me to emergency in La Ronge on Dec. 22..
Dr. Spooner would not let me be admitted. I kept saying to the doctors, especially Dr.Bayda, please give me antibotics. I need antibiotics. I haven’t had any for three weeks and the ones I had did nothing. Finally Dr. Bayda gave me clindomyacin through I. V.In a matter of minutes I could feel the difference. In ten minutes I went from almost delirious to calm because I had antibiotics. Dr. Spooner and one doctor wanted me shipped immediately to get my foot removed. I refused. Dr. Bayda and Dr. Neethling said that I had the right to make the decision. Finally on Christmas morning Dr. Neethling said that No body was going to push me to get my toe or foot amputated. On Jan. 02 I walked out of the hospital with two feet and ten toes. I signed myself out but a nurse Amanda gave us instructions et c.
John dressed and soaked my foot everyday. He did it very carefully according to instructions. I had another bout of gangerene on another toe but he dressed that one as well and we got antibiotics for them.
I told doctors who came to see me if I lose my foot it will be the direct result of the Southend Clinic. I have told doctors that I refuse to consider the Southend clinic as part of my health care. They are out of the loop. I will not pick up supplies from them.
On my own choice and effort I do not take insulin and control my blood sugar with exercice, diet and one or two metformin a day.
I cannot write any more at this time. Writing about Linda Cook and the rest has been very upsetting. There are other incidents about other people but this will do for now. Tomorrow is a Holy Day so I want to quit before midnight.
