'It feels like yesterday': Family of Lexi Daken reflect on teen's suicide one year later

Chris Daken still expects his 16-year-old daughter, Lexi, to bound down the hallway from her bedroom. A corner of the couch remains hers, and her softball jersey now hangs in his bedroom.

He says it doesn’t feel like it’s been a year since her death.

On Feb. 18, 2021, Lexi Daken went to Fredericton's Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital emergency room with her school guidance counsellor, who believed she needed help.

A report by the New Brunswick Child and Youth Advocate, released in September, detailed what she went through during the eight hours she waited in hospital to see a psychiatrist.

Lexi was triaged as level three, meaning in need of “urgent” care.

The following is the timeline of that day:

• Lexi waited five hours in the general waiting room
• 6:26 p.m.: A nurse assessed Lexi, noting she was experiencing suicidal ideation, and had an eating disorder.
• 6:34 p.m.: An ER psychiatric nurse was notified about Lexi’s case.
• 6:44 p.m.: Lexi was moved to an exam room.
• 7:14 p.m.: Lexi was seen by an ER physician, who asked if she thought she could “keep herself safe at home."
• 8:34 p.m.: The ER physician returned, said her bloodwork was normal, and asked again if Lexi could keep herself safe. Otherwise, they would call in a psychiatrist.
• Lexi replied, “I think I can,” and left the hospital

On Feb. 24, 2021, Lexi died by suicide.

Shortly after, the family spoke out, calling for better mental health care to ensure what happened to their "goofy, smart, softball-loving teen" wouldn’t happen to anyone else.

“We still get emails and messages and texts from people,” Daken said. “You know, when a parent says to you, 'I don’t think my daughter would be alive if it wasn’t for Lexi,' you know, I guess, then what we’ve been fighting for is worth it.”

Lexi's story pressured the health-care system and Government of New Brunswick to address gaps in their system, specifically the wait times to see psychiatrists, and better training for emergency room staff.

In a statement Wednesday, Horizon Health provided a list of areas where work is ongoing:

• Creation of a quiet area away from the larger waiting room in the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital emergency department.
• Hiring of staff to implement the Collaborative Care Model to offer mental health crisis care at the emergency department. This process is ongoing.
• Implementation of updated clinical standards for emergency mental health care.
• Policy work has been completed to establish suicide risk screening and assessment process for implementation in all areas, along with a process to audit charts to ensure quality controls are in place.
• ‘One-at-a-time’, single session therapy has been successfully implemented in community addiction and mental health centres for anyone to walk-in or by appointment during regular business hours. Wait lists for one-at-a-time, single-session therapy have been reduced by 54 per cent across Horizon over the last four months.

But the Fredericton region just lost one of its child psychiatrists, so the region is now short two, of four.

And Piper Daken, Lexi’s older sister, says she’s personally learned about some of the gaps that remain. She sought help after Lexi’s death.

“For myself, I personally had to wait eight months to see a psychiatrist to get a diagnosis. That’s considered quick,” she said.

Piper is now studying leadership and psychology at the University of New Brunswick, hoping to go into the mental health field one day. She says it’s important for people to know – despite the gaps – they shouldn’t be ashamed in seeking help.

The family wants Lexi to be remembered for her smile and laugh, not for the way she died. But they do want her legacy to live on and vow to continue pushing for change.

“I’m hoping the system’s better so the next child that comes, asking for help, I hope the hallway’s a little cleaner and clearer for them to go down that path,” said Daken.

Horizon Health provided numbers on how many people have been removed from the ‘one-at-a-time/single-session therapy’ waitlists, between Oct. 2021 and Feb. 2022:

• Moncton – 184 down to 80
• Saint John – 464 down to 35
• Fredericton – 232 down to 196
• Woodstock – 14 down to three
• Miramichi – 206 down to 59