All it took was Tylenol: Autopsy concludes Brantford girl killed herself by overdosing on acetaminophen
Warning: This story is about suicide. Resources for those who need help are listed at the bottom of this story.
The coroner's report is long and technical.
But there is one sentence that makes it human. Real.
Gut wrenching.
She was accompanied by two stuffed animals."
That is how 12-year-old Grace McSweeney arrived in the autopsy suite after she killed herself by overdosing on Tylenol.
Her body, which had been mocked by bullies - the adolescent female had a length of 5'8" and a weight of 277 lbs" - was clad in a green hospital gown."
Grace, who lived in Brantford, had a history of depression," the report says.
She knew that. So did her parents. They had tried to get her help.
An excellent student who wanted to be a writer, things seemed to be going better for Grace last winter. She had asked a girl out. She had made some friends.
But then, before anyone noticed, her mental health worsened.
Just kill yourself," she wrote on her typewriter. The note was found later. After she was gone.
All it took to kill Grace was a bottle of Tylenol.
Just Tylenol. Like the bottles everyone everywhere has in their medicine cabinet.
On March 25 last year, Grace sent texts to classmates saying she had taken Tylenol, Advil and Gravol.
The next day, and the one after that, she had abdominal pain and vomiting," according to the report.
Her mother, Lauren Smith and stepfather, Jeremy Krentz, thought she had the flu.
On the morning of the 28th, she seemed confused and her mother assumed she was tired."
Grace proceeded to trash her bedroom and was subsequently found in her bedroom with an altered level of consciousness," says the report.
She was taken to Brantford General Hospital, then airlifted to McMaster Children's Hospital.
Grace went into cardiac arrest twice.
Grace's condition continued to deteriorate," the report says. A family discussion ensued and a decision was made not to escalate care any further."
Grace passed away at 1:42 a.m. on March 29."
Her cause of death was complications of acute acetaminophen toxicity due to acetaminophen overdose."
She overdosed on Tylenol. It is impossible to know how much she took. It shut her liver down. Then her kidneys. Then her heart.
Lauren and Jeremy have known for nearly a year that Tylenol poisoning was the likely cause of Grace's death. But they just recently received the official toxicology report.
As stark and horrifying as it is, they wanted it made public.
They want everyone to know that acetaminophen, when misused, can kill.
The couple has sent dozens of emails calling for public education and change: keeping acetaminophen behind the counter; smaller bottles of pills; only selling to those 16 and older.
It has, they say, fallen on deaf ears.
I expected resistance with getting changes to acetaminophen restrictions here in Canada," says Jeremy, but I never expected to be passed off and ignored by elected officials and government agencies whose main purpose is to improve public safety and ensure that (their) own regulations are being upheld. Just the shear numbers of overdoses and deaths related to this product screams something needs to be done. But nobody is willing to do anything about it."
One Ontario study published in the journal Clinical Toxicology analyzed rising rates of intentional overdoses among youth between 2010 and 2015.
It found acetaminophen was the most commonly used drug, but almost all teens who quickly go to the emergency department for an intentional overdose survive.
Much can be learned from Grace's death. About bullying, mental health, suicide and yes, Tylenol.
And much can be improved.
Susan Clairmont is a justice columnist at The Spectator. sclairmont@thespec.com
FOR HELP
Kids Help Line 1-800-668-6868 or kidshelpphone.ca.
COAST 905-972-8338
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Crisis Services Canada 1-833-456-4566
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255