Melissa’s Story

His liquid medication, a routine treatment we trusted, was accidentally compounded with the wrong drug. Losing our son has been unimaginable. As I tried to make sense of what had happened, I made a devastating discovery—there was no program in my province requiring community pharmacists to report errors, nor any system in place to ensure they could learn from them. Not only did this not exist in my province, but it only existed in Nova
Scotia at the time.

I am a teacher by profession, and I have always believed in the power of learning from mistakes. But in Andrew’s case, we weren’t given the chance to learn before it was too late. I knew that something had to change. So, I began a campaign advocating for a mandatory quality improvement program across Canada – programs that would require the reporting of medication errors and use these reports as tools to reduce preventable harm. My son’s loss fueled a new purpose in my life to ensure no other family had to endure the same heartbreak. Over the years, I have worked closely with others who share this mission, and today, most provinces in Canada have implemented these programs. This progress has helped me find some meaning from the profound loss of my son. I am now the Patient and Family Advisor at ISMP Canada, where I bring Andrew’s story and my lived experience to the table. Every day, I collaborate with passionate individuals and organizations to make medications safer for everyone. Andrew’s story is not just about loss—it is about driving change, creating accountability, and building a future where medication-related harm is a thing of the past.

Sharing Andrew’s story has been a way to make change and encourage safer medication practices across Canada. Through collaboration and advocacy, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to systems that aim to reduce medication errors and prevent harm. My experiences as a parent and advocate have led me to work where I focus on making meaningful improvements in medication safety. By fostering accountability and learning from these critical events, we can pave the way for a health care system that prioritizes safety and continuous improvement. Together, we can honour those we’ve lost by striving to protect all Canadians, one story, one report, and one change at a time.