Mother of Sask. woman who died after bug bite infection calls for increased services for homeless
CBC
Wanda Natawayous of Saskatoon worries about her granddaughter. The preschooler's mother Angela Andrews recently died, and she sometimes wakes up crying.
"I have to explain to her why her mother's not around now. Especially when she's older, it's going to be hard," said Natawayous of her granddaughter Raelynn Andrews-Walker.
Andrews was living on the streets of Regina before she died on Oct. 4.
One day, she was bit on the temple by an unknown bug. She went to the hospital for the bite, but left before doctors could give her her results. Because she had no address or phone, hospital staff were unable to reach her.
Natawayous says the bite resulted in a blood infection. Eventually, 22-year-old Andrews had two strokes and died. Doctors think there may also have been an underlying autoimmune disorder that was never diagnosed.
Life had been hard for Andrews leading up to the fatal bug bite.
"She was going through some things. When the baby [Raelynn] was about four months old, she left. And she got into addictions," said Natawayous.
Andrews was taking drugs like crystal meth and fentanyl.
"But it didn't matter how far she fell into her addictions, Raelynn was always the first thing on her mind. Any kind of help she received she would give half of whatever she received to Raelynn to help with her."
Natawayous says Andrews wanted to get treatment. But that it was hard for her to make that step because she had no address, phone or any other way to contact anyone or be contacted.
"Just a couple weeks before she passed, she got ahold of me and she wanted to go into detox," she said.
Natawayous says her daughter died because there are not enough services for those without homes. She wants the Government of Saskatchewan to step up. And she wants it to start with reversing a change to the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program. Natawayous wants the government to stop giving the money directly to the people on SIS, and return to having that money go straight to landlords.
"They're giving people this money and they're expecting them to go out and pay their bills when they're not mentally prepared to do it," Natawayous said.
"Before they had their homes paid for ... they could have their bills paid directly, and they weren't in these situations."
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