AMAD Meeting No 29 10 04 14

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/8c243a_4b39a59753b949d3baf46567b4f9df48/file

In this poignant AMAD Meeting, Mike and Jennifer Schouten share their heartfelt testimony about their late son Markus, highlighting the impact of their loss.

Transcript

Transcript unavailable.

Transcript

will now go to Mr and Mrs shooten and I believe you will share your time so you will have the floor for five minutes thank you very much for being here and I also um we we have two photographs that you have circulated to members of our committee which includes the photos of your son your late son okay so Mr and Mr shooting the floor is yours we thank you very much for inviting us here to to share our lived experience of of walking alongside a child with a terminal illness and it's our hope that through our testimony today you'll you'll receive some insight into how to deliberate and and what to recommend to Parliament my wife will begin and then I will conclude this is our dear son Marcus

on February 26 2021 he was diagnosed with ewing sarcoma an aggressive form of bone cancer after 20 rounds of chemotherapy 25 rounds of radiation numerous surgeries including the replacement of his entire upper right arm with an internal prosthetic we made the decision with Marcus and his doctors to end treatment for cure and focus on quality of life Marcus's care was then transferred from BC Children's Hospital to connect Place children's hospice the palliative and hospice care markers received at our home was focused on addressing his suffering and valuing his dignity the doctors and nurses knew his days would be short and their efforts ensured that the days he had left were lived well

Marcus wanted to die at home surrounded by his family but he also didn't want to experience the intense pain and suffering that he knew would come as his lungs filled with tumors on what turned out to be his last Friday Nur Shanna assessed Marcus and said his time is short she advised us to take the window we still had for Marcus to be transported to Canuck Place Hospice in Vancouver with the increased intensity of his care we agreed our whole family was together at the hospice and as we entered the evening it appeared that Marcus would only last a few more hours as each of his siblings said good night to Marcus he told them he loved them and said see you in Paradise

Mike and I didn't sleep at all but took turns sitting beside Marcus the nurses maintained his medication and Marcus assured us that he was very comfortable and not in any pain at one point he said to me this is how I hoped it would be as Dawn arrived we realized that God had another day in store for Marcus early that morning Marcus's friends arrived at the hospice and together they cried laughed and prayed that afternoon both Marcus sets of grandparents also Came to Say Goodbye by early Sunday morning Marcus was non-responsive and his breathing had become a lot more shallow just before 2 30 that afternoon Marcus's breathing slowed and with each of us around his bedside

he took his final peaceful breath Marcus died just six short months ago on May 29 2022 only 15 months after his diagnosis if he was here today his appeal to you would be to not expand euthanasia to minors for two reasons earlier this month it was reported in the news that cam app the Canadian Association of made assessors and providers is recommending that Physicians have an obligation to bring up medical assistance in dying with patients who meet eligibility requirements as Jennifer just outlined Marcus met all the eligibility requirements this means that if euthanasia is extended to minors the day will come when families just like ours with their dying children will feel an obligation

to end the suffering of their child by having a doctor euthanize him or her dear committee members we recommend against the expansion of euthanasia because by giving some minors the right to request you put all minors and their families in a position where they are obliged to consider if that happened to Marcus the message he would have heard would have been clear we don't value your life we don't think it is worth living and if you want we can end it for you it would have said to him we are giving up on you honorable members we should never give up on our children the second reason we recommend you don't extend made to minors is because by doing so you eliminate unimaginably

beautiful experiences when we went to the Canuck Place children's hospice we didn't know how long Marcus would live we hadn't even wanted to go to the hospice initially but being there allowed us to embrace each moment we had with him and him with us if euthanasia becomes available to minors then that Friday night when we thought Marcus was going to go after we'd all had our time with him to say our goodbyes it would have seemed like the thing to do right it's time the nurse would say it's the compassionate thing to do he doesn't have to suffer anymore but then we would not have had Saturday a most beautiful day shared with our son our brother and our friend

we suffered much with Marcus and and we miss him terribly but Marcus showed us he showed us how to find meaning in suffering and he was thankful for each day that God gave to him and therefore it is our heartfelt recommendation to this committee on behalf of Marcus and our family that you do not extend made to minors and instead focus on providing the necessary robust palliative and hospice care resources to ensure the best quality of living even when someone is dying thank you thank you very much to to uh the schultens for your courageous testimony this morning we I cannot imagine being in your shoes but the fact that you were able to share this testimony with us it was very

powerful so we'll go into our first um