Three months after the facts, the nurse assaulted at the CHU Dumont testifies

It was March 11. Natasha Poirier worked in her office as nurse manager of the surgery department at Georges-L.-Dumont Hospital. Around 2 p.m., a man came into his office to ask him to change his wife's room, but the discussion quickly degenerated.

He leaned [towards me], looked me in the eyes and said, "I'll give you three seconds to decide", but I didn't have time to even think about my answer. he pulled me by the hair and proceeded to attack.

He then allegedly twisted her left arm, then her fingers, before hitting her on the head several times, until she lost consciousness for a few seconds. When she came to, he was punching her in the face.

It was at this time that Natasha's colleagues came to her rescue. They had to go to several to control the attacker. A colleague even suffered a wrist injury and had to stop working for two weeks.

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The recovery was extremely long

The day after the attack, it was Natasha Poirier's mother who spoke to the media to tell about this sad event. We now understand why.

Along with physical injuries, including a broken nose, torn ligaments in her hands and a black eye, the nurse suffered a concussion that made communication difficult for more than two months.

It was Norma Melanson, the mother of Natasha Poirier, who first told the story of her daughter, as she had told it to her last March.

@coyotedamage i found out i most likely also have arthritis and am thinkingabout that song so we are very in wave… https://t.co/4VYedPo7aA

—breezie Sun Jul 11 ​​19:21:44 +0000 2021

Photo: Radio-Canada

However, the recovery is not yet completely complete. For example, Natasha Poirier still stutters and her eyes remain sensitive to light. If she can start driving again, she must continue to see a range of medical professionals: a physiotherapist, a chiropractor, her family doctor, a neurologist and a speech therapist.

But above all, she does not yet know when she will be able to return to work or even if she will one day be able to resume her duties.

All the doctors tell me is that it's going to be long. I have a medical paper until September 15. We'll see where I'm at then. [...] I'm not sure I can return to my duties as nurse manager, because it's a lot of multitasking and I manage 53 employees.

The Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Center in Moncton

Photo: Radio-Canada / Michel Nogue

Healing through community support

Natasha Poirier would like to thank all those who encouraged her during the most difficult times, her relatives and strangers.

She now hopes that the attack she experienced will not be forgotten and that she will allow other nurses to dare to report this type of event.

We have to show that we are at risk in our profession, we need more security , she concludes.

With information from Wildinette Paul