Sask. woman says health system failed her brother, who had Down syndrome [Video]

Tara Jo Kadlec has been advocating for better care for her brother Cory for years.

He was 41-years-old when he died last month, and she thinks he was failed by his care providers at the end of his life because of what she describes as huge systemic problems in Saskatchewan health care.

“Because he had the dementia diagnosis; that he was getting written off, ‘oh he has dementia, just dementia,’ but that’s not really true because he had pneumonia,” Kadlec told CTV News.

These conditions were all part of the complex health needs Cory faced alongside having Down syndrome, and that dementia diagnosis since 2022. He also had a stroke in 2020.

Kadlec says Cory’s death was just the last in a string of issues they faced with the health care system in Saskatchewan.

“Everybody deserves dignity and deserves to be treated fairly, whether it’s the beginning of your life …