Mom of student at Ontario school for blind recalls events leading to teen's death as inquest begins

With her voice breaking,Andrea Brown told an inquest her son Samuel was fine when she dropped him off atW. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind in Brantford, Ont., in February 2018, but was told days later he was pronounced deadin hospital and an inquest wasn't needed because "he was a kid with a disability."

Brown was the first of 13 expected witnesses at the 10-day inquest that began Monday. Samuel died overnight at Brantford General Hospital on Feb. 9, 2018.

"Samuel was loved and Samuel enjoyed life," Brown testified.

The 18-year-old deaf, blind and non-verbal student had been attendingW. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind since he was four.

His family lives in Brampton, Ont.

Brown testified she had been seeking aninquest for five years because it's "what is right" and she wants questions answered about her son's suddendeath.

"When the doctor suggested that we don't have to do [an autopsy], then itpushed me further to believe we needed to do this," she said.

Brown answered questions from inquest counsel Maria Stevens,Ministry of EducationcounselRoseanna Ansell-Vaughanand Saron Gebresellassi, the family's counsel, about Samuel's health, the care he needed and events leading up to his death.

Stevens told the inquest Samuelwasdiagnosedwith chromosome 6q deletion,developmental delayand deaf-blindness.

Brown said he used a wheelchair most of the time due to him having limited mobility and scoliosis an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine that's often diagnosed in childhood or early adolescence.

Samuelhad to be fed pureed food only and thick juices. He was also said to have experienced aspiration pneumonia a few times, but wasn't a "sickly" child, according to his mother.

The inquest will examine the circumstances surroundingthedeath, look at the heightened risks hefaced when it came to food and liquid entering his airway, explore safeguards torespond to those risks, and analyze the school's policies forstudents with barriers to communicating their needs and symptoms.

He was 'normal Samuel' that week, mom recalls

Brown recalled that Samuel would stay at the school overnight from Sunday to Friday and spendthe weekends at home with his family.

Brown said that when she dropped Samueloffon Sunday, Feb. 4, he was fine:"The normal Samuel."

On Thursday evening, she said,she received a call from a male staff member saying Samuel didn't get up for his supper. When Brown asked if her son was well, she was told he was "agitated and fussy" earlier before going to his bed.

Are you telling me that my son is not with us anymore?- Andrea Brown, Samuel's mother

Brownsaid she didn'tknowSamuel was unwell thenand recalledjokingly telling the staff member maybe they were "working him too hard, that's why he didn't get up."

Stevens told the inquest Samuel had not beenfeeling well earlierthat day,Feb. 8, and was taken to student health services at 12:20 p.m. ET, but had no fever or coughing.

"During a second visit to student health services at 7 p.m., he hasa temperature,38C,and isgiven Tylenol," Stevens said, recalling the reporting that night.

"The nurse notes hischest isclear, breathing is shallowand there's clear nasal discharge."

Samuel's temperature returned to a "normal" 36.7 C at around 1 a.m., according to Stevens. However, he was found unresponsive at 6 a.m. and then taken to hospital.

Meanwhile, Brown hadcalled backto ask about her son, butgot no answer or callback after leaving a message.

In the morning, onFeb. 9, someone from the school told her that when they went to wake Samuel up, he had beenunresponsive. The stafferasked her to come to Brantford General Hospital, around 100 kilometres away from where Brown lived.

Brown said that when staff offered to get herand her husband a taxi tothe hospital, she asked, "'Is this more serious than you're telling me?'"

The staffer then told her, "'Mrs. Brown, I said when we went to wake [Samuel] up this morning he was unresponsive.'"

"I, in turn, said, 'Are you telling me that my son is not with us anymore?'" Brown recalled. Thestafferconfirmed his death andBrown said she started "bawling."

Mother told to 'remember he was a kid with a disability'

Brown wipedher cheek with her hand as she spoke Monday about seeing her son at the hospital the next day.

She had askedwhy an ambulance wasn't sent earlier to attend to her son that night.Brown said the coroner told her"it must have been too cold" for medical teamsto visit Samuel earlier.

She said the coroner saidan autopsy wasn't needed, telling her she"'must remember he was a kid with a disability.'"

"I said, 'Yes I remember that because I was the one who gave birth to him,'" she said.

The Browns previously said the investigating coroner produced a reportsaying their son had died of natural causes.In an attempt to get more answers, the family pushed for anautopsy, which was eventually carried out and concluded that Samueldied of pneumonia a finding his mother said only deepenedthe family's confusion.

Stevens said an area the inquest willexplore is how cause of death statements are framed when disabilityis a factor.