‘I’m not coming back,’ father tells daughter
As families launch suit against care home, one woman mourns parents
When the paramedics came, Edward Schanck knew it was the end.
He knew it was the last time he would see his home, his wife and his daughter. The virus had won.
His lungs were being crushed under the weight of pneumonia. The fatigue was debilitating. The novel coronavirus had stolen his energy and it was about to take his life.
“He said to me ‘I’m not coming back,’ ” said Michele Schanck White of her last conversation with her father on the day he was taken to hospital. “I said ‘Dad, don’t say that,’ but he said he was tired of fighting.”
That was April 7, one day after the 87-year-old was tested for COVID-19 at the Lundy Manor long-term-care home in Niagara Falls. He died on April 8. The next day, his wife, Barbara, 83, was also taken to hospital. COVID-19 had a lethal grip on her too. Her family was not allowed in the home to comfort their dying and grieving mother because of the pandemic lockdown. She died on April 10. “We couldn’t be with her,” said Schanck White. “She lost her husband, my father, and no one could be with her.”
Schanck White and her family were gripped with fear for weeks before Edward and Barbara died. COVID-19 was hitting long-term-care homes across Ontario like a grenade. Lundy Manor was locked down on March 30, which prevented anyone from visiting the residents to limit the spread of the potentially deadly virus.
But it was too late. The virus was already in the home, likely travelling in with staff who also worked at other long-term-care facilities, according to Niagara’s public health department.
On April 2, Schanck White said her family’s fears were realized when Lundy Manor’s executive director sent a letter to the families of residents to inform them of the home’s first COVID-19 related death.
“We are in the fight of our lifetimes here and our staff, and managers are doing absolutely everything in our powers to prevent this horrible outcome,” wrote Greg Fortier. “I, as the leader, feel deeply responsible and guilty for this loss.”
Fortier wrote there were other infected residents, but could not provide an exact number. He outlines the cleaning measures the home was taking and made a plea for donations of protective equipment.
By the time the outbreak was declared over on June 1, 41 of Lundy Manor’s 91 residents contracted COVID-19. Nineteen of them, including
Schanck White’s parents, died. The home made headlines across Ontario when it was revealed it held a “pub night” for residents after the provincial government issued emergency orders to fight the pandemic on March 17.
It is now the subject of a $20-million class-action lawsuit by the families of residents which alleges the operators of Lundy Manor “failed to take all reasonable, necessary and protective measures to ensure the residents and staff of Lundy Manor were safe.”
Since the lawsuit was filed, the home’s spokesperson said the home would no longer provide public comment about COVID-19’s impact on the facility.
The suit’s allegations have not been proven in court.
Fortier’s admission of remorse did little to stem Schanck White’s fears at the time. It does less to salve her grief now. Her family has yet to join the suit against Lundy Manor for fear of losing money from Barbara and Edward’s estate if the suit fails.
But she agreed with the action’s characterization of Lundy Manor.
“I think it was mismanagement. They failed terribly,” Schanck White said. “They should have done more to keep the residents safe … We have to live every day with the loss of our parents, who were beautiful people, beautiful parents and grandparents.” When Edward and Barbara moved into Lundy Manor in November 2018, it was supposed to be a safe place to spend their twilight years together. Although four years older, Edward was in better health than his wife. But helping her and taking care of their Niagara Falls home had become too much.
Schanck White said their first choice was to move to Seasons retirement home in nearby Welland — which would also suffer a deadly COVID-19 outbreak around the same time as Lundy Manor — but a unit at Lundy Manor came up first.
Although not their first choice, it seemed like the best decision for them at the time, Schanck White said. Her parents were comfortable. They remained active and made regular use of Lundy Manor’s common areas to play Bingo and euchre.
The idyllic times would not last. On March 10, a British Columbia man in his 80s became Canada’s first recorded COVID-19 death. The next day, the World Health Organization declared a COVID-19 a global pandemic. The virus spread and Schanck White’s concern for her parents deepened.
She visited Lundy Manor to see her parents on March 14. She did not know it, but it would be the last time she would see them in person.
Three days later, the Ontario government declared a state emergency. Lund y Manor would not enact physical distancing rules until March 26 and imposed its lockdown on March 30.
In that time span, life continued in Lundy Manor much as it always had. The Schancks still enjoyed their euchre games. March 28 was the date of the pub night which earned the home the wrath of Premier Doug Ford. Niagara’s public health has told the St. Catharines Standard that eight people attended the pub night.
The Schancks did not attend, but their daughter said she was worried the virus could strike Lundy Manor, putting them in the pandemic’s firing line. “We were scared. We were nervous. But we were hoping and praying (Lundy Manor) was equipped to handle it and were following all the health ministry’s guidelines,” Schanck White said.
Then came the April 2 letter from Fortier.
Within days, Edward felt the first signs of his novel coronavirus infection. He was tested for COVID-19 on April 6, but his oxygen levels were crashing and he was sent to the St. Catharines hospital the next day.
As he predicted, Edward never returned home.
Schanck White called her mother on April 8 to tell her that her husband was gone. It was their final conversation.
Barbara’s fever was spiking. Schanck White said her mother was “a little delirious.” Like her husband, Barbara had severe pneumonia. With her oxygen levels declining, she was also was brought to the hospital, where she tested positive.
In the space of two days, Schanck White’s world crumbled.
“We’re devastated,” she said. “Elderly people move into retirement homes and think they will be safe. They weren’t safe.”