Madi’s story…shared for clarity. We need change! 

Dr. David Mee became our family physician in 1993. I first came under his care during my pregnancy with my daughter, Madisyn. For nearly three decades, our family placed its trust in him as our primary care provider.

In 2021, Dr. Mee conducted a brief telephone appointment, lasting approximately ten minutes, during which he prescribed Madisyn thirty 1-mg tablets of lorazepam and escitalopram. At the time of prescribing, Madisyn was not informed that escitalopram was the same medication previously prescribed to her under the brand name Lexapro. Approximately one year earlier, she had experienced an adverse reaction to Lexapro.

Within two weeks of initiating these medications, Madisyn reported feeling unwell and stated that the prescribed drugs were causing her to feel “weird.” Due to escalating concern for her safety, I transported her to the emergency department at St. Mary’s Hospital. She was subsequently transferred to Grand River Hospital, where she was admitted and held involuntarily under psychiatric care.

At Grand River Hospital, Madisyn was placed under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Lori Ann Bernadette Williams. After approximately one week of inpatient treatment, Madisyn was discharged. Following her release, Dr. Williams continued pharmacological treatment and prescribed additional medications, including pregabalin.

Two weeks after her discharge from Grand River Hospital, Madisyn died by suicide.

Formal complaints were submitted to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario regarding the conduct of both Dr. Mee and Dr. Williams. The CPSO concluded that neither physician engaged in wrongdoing and that their actions met the applicable standard of care.

Notwithstanding these findings, the sequence of events reflects that Madisyn sought medical assistance, disclosed adverse effects, was subjected to involuntary hospitalization, discharged, prescribed additional medications, and died shortly thereafter. The outcome raises serious and unresolved concerns regarding continuity of care, informed consent, medication management, and patient safety.

It was later discovered, upon receipt and review of the hospital records, that Madisyn’s adverse reaction to both escitalopram (Lexapro) and lorazepam had been documented as suicidal ideation. The records further indicate that she had, in fact, overdosed on her prescribed medications.

No disclosure of this information was provided to our family at the time of her hospitalization or discharge.

The only apology or acknowledgment received was a letter from Grand River Hospital, which addressed the hospital’s failure to conduct a family meeting.