(Halifax) The mother of an Indigenous woman who died in hospital from fungal meningitis says racism may have played a role in how doctors treated her.
Destiny Rennie’s mother has filed a lawsuit against Nova Scotia health officials and four doctors responsible for the 22-year-old Mi’kmaq woman’s treatment.
A notice of action filed July 25 in Nova Scotia Supreme Court says Destiny Rennie, who was “brain dead” on Aug. 3, 2023, was pronounced dead three days later from meningitis. But her family says she didn’t get the care she needed because doctors believed she was addicted to drugs.
Her family alleges that hospital staff and doctors were “generally negligent” in their monitoring of M’s symptoms.me Rennie for several days and were slow to act as his health gradually deteriorated.
“It’s heartbreaking to think that if she had blonde hair and blue eyes, she might have been treated differently. Would she still be here today?” her mother, Dana Rennie, asked in an interview Wednesday.
The statement of claim names Dana Rennie as the plaintiff, along with Destiny’s father, Tim Toney, and stepmother, Teesa Syliboy. They claim hospital staff were slow to provide treatment to the young woman and failed to rush her to a Halifax hospital for more advanced care.
The allegations have not been proven in court. The Nova Scotia Health Authority said it does not comment on legal proceedings.
The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs are seeking monetary and non-pecuniary damages for loss of care and companionship, as well as costs associated with the lawsuit. The amounts of the claims are not specified.
A doctor estimated that Mme Rennie had likely used illicit drugs and given him antibiotics as a result, the prosecution notice states. He then ordered a blood test that showed the only drugs not prescribed by a doctor were cannabinoids, chemicals found in cannabis.
M’s motherme Rennie claims she repeatedly told medical staff that her daughter was not a drug addict, but she felt they didn’t believe her.
PATH Legal, a nonprofit legal aid organization representing M’s familyme Rennie says her tragic and preventable death highlights the systemic and ongoing mistreatment of Indigenous people in health care facilities.
The firm said in a written statement that Mr.me Rennie and her mother were ignored by medical staff because both women were Aboriginal.
In an interview Wednesday, the father, Tim Toney, said his daughter’s Mi’kmaq identity “played a big role in how she was treated.”
“She died alone”
Mme Rennie first went to Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Middleton, N.S., on July 27, with headaches, sensitivity to light and facial swelling. She was given antibiotics and told to return the next day for a CT scan.
Between July 28 and 31, her condition worsened. She was transported by ambulance to the Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville and admitted on July 31.
The lawsuit alleges that in the days that followed, doctors were slow to order tests and that on the morning of Aug. 2, they suspected meningitis and ordered treatment. But medical staff allegedly did not administer antifungal medication for eight and a half hours and did not immediately fly her to Halifax for treatment.
Dana Rennie claims that medical staff failed to inform her of the seriousness of her daughter’s illness. “No one came to me and told me that she could die at any moment, that this was really serious. Not once,” she said.
“And we were denied ICU stay. She died alone. Completely alone. They can’t even tell me exactly what time she died because she was alone.”
The application for instance states that Mr.me Rennie was declared “brain dead” between 10pm and midnight on August 2. The following morning, tests confirmed she had cryptococcal meningitis – a fungal meningitis – and at that point she was flown to the QEII hospital in Halifax.
Tests continued for three days at that hospital, where doctors determined nothing could be done, the family said. She was pronounced dead on the evening of Aug. 6, when her oxygen was disconnected.
Dana Rennie said her daughter is terribly missed by her many siblings and family, and was known for her love of nature.
“She was a wonderful big sister […] and she was so talented. My God, with everything she tried. She made earrings and jewelry and lockets with beads. She could ride a mountain bike and shoot a bow and arrow, she could fish, she could paint, she could skateboard. This girl was so incredible.”
Her father agrees. He adds that his daughter was extremely proud of her Mi’kmaq heritage and family, and made friends wherever she went.
“She really loved all her siblings, she is very artistic and creative […] and you know, she also came with me fishing on lobster boats. She followed the boys and surprised everybody, and everybody had really good things to say about her.”
Before her death, the young woman lived in Middleton, next door to her grandmother, and regularly cooked for friends and family.
“The world is very dark now. It’s quiet and it’s dark without her,” her mother said.