Comments by "Andrew Brendan" (@andrewbrendan1579) on "The Globe and Mail" channel.

Almost four years ago my brother who had Down Syndrome died of pneumonia complications. He already had dementia and may have been autistic as well and had forgotten how to use the bathroom. I don't know if he ever understood our mother's death and why I couldn't keep him at home. My brother was almost completely non-verbal but an earlier time when he was hospitalized with pneumonia but still after our mother's death he yelled out, "I can't stand it!". He would yell and struggle for as long as 14 hours and fought the IV and nose clip for oxygen. Then there was hysteria in rehab where I had to hire someone to be with my brother all the time. There was also the bad group home for which I had to get Adult Protective Services involved and I could tell even more. My brother's death from the second bout of pneumonia was truly a blessing and release. My father had died in a highway crash and, terrible as it was, it was better than what my brother went through.
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