Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Isabelle Granito is now fighting to make sure other families can mourn with dignity and respect.
Jacques Richard was 52 years old when he died suddenly of a heart attack last year.
"My son contacted me. He said, 'Dad is dead.' He said, 'Come fast. There's nobody to help us," she said.
Richard was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where Granito found him, an hour after his death. She said her partner was lying on a stretcher in the resuscitation room.
"His body was all covered with biological fluids, and a tube was still there, and nothing had been cleaned," she said.
Granito has worked as a nurse for 26 years and said she was shocked to see his body had not been cleaned up. When she asked for a supervisor, Granito said she was told there was no one.
"I asked him, 'Please, can you send someone to clean it up?' They say, 'Yes, sure, I will send them. You'll go do it with her.' So I changed my husband with her," she said.
That was her last memory of her husband of 23 years.
"I've been robbed. I've been robbed this moment," she said.
Jacques Richard was 52 years old when he died suddenly of a heart attack last year (Handout photo)Granito said she suffers from post-traumatic stress and at not even 50 years old, she believes her career may be over.
"I'm traumatized. I haven't been back to work, and I'm not sure I can go back as a nurse," she said.
In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson from the McGill University Hospital Centre wrote, "We are sorry to hear that a patient or family member has had an unpleasant experience at the MUHC."
Without commenting on the specific case, the spokesperson added, "it can also happen that family members enter the room when resuscitation efforts have just finished, and inadvertently find themselves face to face with a patient who has not been cleaned."
After losing the father of her children, Granito plans to file two official complaints: one with the MUHC and another with the Quebec Order of Nurses.
"I'm fighting for people like me who had no help," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'