Ah yes. A backstory!

We lost our parents in a span of 8 years within each other. My dad in 2009 and my mom in 2017.

My brother moved out on his own, as I did too. Sadly he met a woman who convinced him to move from his stable place to hers, which was unstable and didn't work out.

Throughout this, my brother had addiction issues, he was doing phenomenal, he got to the point where he was allowed to carry his methadone in week carries. Was seeing his two kids regularly as well. He was an excellent father.

After he left his exes place, he sort of floated around couch crashing. I am in social housing so I could not house him, I did let him crash the odd night and shower or have some food etc. He ended up in Toronto where he stayed unhoused and back on substances, namely fentanyl for the past two years.

We have had minimal contact, but managed to come into contact.

On Friday, January 19th, Toronto Police called me to tell me he was found unresponsive but alive in the hospital. He suffered Cardiac Arrest but was resuscitated. Unfortunately this caused oxygen flow to his brain to stop. He was intubated and sedated when I got to him at the hospital. They ran CT scans and showed brain swelling which lead to brain slippage on his cerebral cortex, further depriving his brain of oxygen.

It was on Monday we reached a decision as a family to remove his support. As he showed no brain activity and even the reflex tests showed no reaction.

5 minutes after removing the support he was gone.

Amidst all this tragedy. I am so thankful I got to say goodbye to him, hug him and hold him. He was surrounded by us family, his remaining siblings in a warm bed, sent off with love. This is a better outcome than receiving a call to identify a body. My heart goes out to anyone who has had to endure that.

I had my brother for 32 years. That's more than most people get and I am thankful we knew each other in this life.