'He could've been treated differently': Toronto man dies at home after several visits to local hospital
A Toronto music lover who thrived in the company of others died alone at home following three visits to a local hospital due to severe abdominal pain, according to one of his closest friends.
“He didn't talk very much, but he had this presence that everybody enjoyed hanging out with him because he was just the nicest guy that ever lived,” John Romanelli told CTV News Toronto as he described Walter Froebrich, who he met at a concert some 20 years earlier.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“Not many people can pass away and they have not one enemy in their whole entire life. And, you know, he was that guy.”
The soft-spoken metalhead had become a fixture in the city’s hardcore music scene. If a big-time act like Slayer or Anthrax was coming to town, Romanelli said, Froebrich wouldn't be hard to find somewhere in the crowd with his bushy long beard and 90s-era camera in hand.
“He always went out of his way to get pictures with everybody that was his little thing that he liked to do.”
Those pictures, of which Romanelli believes there are thousands, have been surfacing on social media in recent days following Froebrich’s death last month as friends, promoters, and musicians alike pay tribute to their friend.
Froebrich had been complaining of severe abdominal pain in recent weeks which friends believed was related to an internal tear. He had been searching for medical care to treat the issue but had struggled to do so without a family doctor.
Walter Froebrich and John Romanelli are seen in this undated image. (Facebook/John Romanelli)
Romanelli recalled more than a few posts to social media in which Froebrich had been asking his friends for help in finding a physician, but it wasn’t until his birthday party early last month that he realized how dire his situation really was.
“He told me at that birthday party that he was going to the hospital and that he would wait all day and then be sent home,” he said.
Friends of Froebrich said he visited St. Joseph’s Medical Centre in Toronto’s west end a number of times in recent years in the absence of a family doctor.
However, they said it was three recent visits to the hospital over the span of a week -- in which Froebrich’s pain had become unbearable -- that would see him allegedly sent home with antibiotics to eventually die alone in his Etobicoke apartment.
“His final post on Facebook says, ‘Please help me.’ And then he died,” Romanelli said before bursting into tears.
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Unity Health Toronto, which oversees operations at St. Joe’s extended its condolences to the loved ones of Froebrich.
“While we cannot share or discuss patient informational publicly we take these allegations seriously and are committed to working with his representatives directly as we conduct a review of his care,” a spokesperson said in an email.
Froebrich’s loved ones rallied outside of St. Joe’s hospital on Saturday carrying signs that read, "Justice for Walter,” while looking for answers following a death that has clearly struck a chord within Toronto’s metal community and beyond.
“This is not an uncommon thing. This is about the big picture of our crumbling Ontario health-care system,” Romanelli said, adding that Froebrich’s death underscores the importance of addressing physical, as well as mental health, appropriately.
Friends of Walter Froebrich are seen at a rally in front of St. Joseph's Medical Centre on Dec. 3, 2022. (Facebook/John Romanelli)
“He could have been treated differently. Somebody could have seriously sat down with him and figured out what was going on…Because Walter didn't talk much, I could just see him sitting in that lobby for the day…And that's one of the most upsetting things to all of us, is the fact that we can we can all see him just not wanting to cause problems. Well, because he was a ‘not wanting to cause problems’ kind of guy, he died.”
A GoFundMe aimed at covering Froebrich’s funeral expenses has been set up and already surpassed its goal of $10,000. A memorial benefit concert in his memory is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2023.
Froebrich was 45.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
Sherpa guide Kami Rita scales Mount Everest for 29th time, extending his own record again
One of greatest climbing guides on Mount Everest has scaled the world's highest peak for the 29th time, extending his own record for most times to the summit, expedition organizers said Sunday.
As Israel pushes deeper into Rafah, Hamas regroups elsewhere in ungoverned Gaza
Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
Feds 'committed to doing more,' but minister offers no timeline for Canadian Disability Benefit boost
Amid significant criticism from advocates, Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Minister Kamal Khera is defending her government's long-promised, newly unveiled Canada Disability Benefit, calling the funds an "initial step," but without laying out a timeline for future expansion of the program.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Balancing act: Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO juggles Arctic airline challenges
With carriers' flight volumes above the 60th parallel hovering below pre-pandemic levels, Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO now bears the task of balancing those financial and logistical challenges with the needs of communities for which she feels a deep affinity.