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Family wants answers after death of injured woman sent home from
Saskatoon hospital

   Phil Tank
   | CBC News | Posted: September 18, 2026 11:18 PM | Last
   Updated: September 19

   Family says Kirsten Hanke, 30, died after her broken ankle went
   untreated for more than a week

   Image | blood clot death 4

   Caption: Jason Kirby speaks to reporters about the death of his
   partner, Kirsten Hanke, at a news conference at C.P Seeley Park
   in Saskatoon on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hanke's parents, Shawna
   and Kelly, stand behind Kirby. (Don Somers/CBC)
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   The Saskatchewan Health Authority is reviewing the August death
   of a 30-year-old Saskatoon woman who appears to have died of
   complications from an untreated broken ankle.
   The heartbroken family of Kirsten Hanke spoke Friday at a news
   conference in Saskatoon attended by NDP Opposition Leader Carla
   Beck.
   Hanke's partner, Morgan Kirby, told media gathered at C.P.
   Seeley Park that Hanke broke her ankle in three places when she
   slipped while retrieving a package from her front step on Aug.
   12.
   Kirby said she was sent home from Royal University Hospital and
   scheduled for surgery three days later, but she was then sent
   home again because there was no record of the scheduled surgery
   when she arrived for it.
   She died five days later while waiting for a new date for the
   operation, he said.
   "No one's shocked, and that's the scary part," Kirby said. "We
   should be shocked right now. We should be floored. And we're
   not.
   "Because we all have heard this happen way too many times. It
   keeps happening. It keeps happening. It can't happen."
     * 'No dignity': Sask. man decries mother's days-long stay in
       hospital hallway

   The family was told Hanke died from blood clots that travelled
   from the ankle into her lungs.
   Kirby said she collapsed in front of her mother at home on Aug.
   19, while waiting for her surgery to be rescheduled. Her
   mother, Shawna, called for emergency help.
   The SHA said Hanke's death has been deemed a "critical
   incident," which triggers a formal review process that will
   include conversations with the family. The family will also be
   informed about the results of the review, according to an
   emailed statement from the SHA.

   Image | IMG_9750

   Caption: (Submitted by Hanke family)
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'Even angrier'

   The family asked for Hanke to remain on life support for a few
   extra minutes, until just after midnight on Aug. 20, to avoid
   her death coinciding with her sister's wedding anniversary.
   "I think about her every minute of every day and what she would
   be doing," Kirby added. "And I know that she would be even
   angrier than I was, and am now, if that would have happened to
   me."
   Kirby said he believes Hanke's death resulted from her
   untreated broken ankle, but added no medical professional has
   officially confirmed that.
   He described her as strong, thoughtful and stubborn, with an
   infectious laugh.
   "When she believed in something she believed in it and she
   would fight to the death to defend that," Kirby said.
     * Sask. health minister says province is focused on avoiding
       a health-care strike, not preparing for one

   Hanke's parents, Shawna and Kelly, stood behind him as he spoke
   at the news conference.
   Hanke graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a
   degree in psychology and worked at the university's College of
   Medicine.
   An emotional Beck paused while she spoke as she called for
   change in the province's health-care system. She called for a
   full investigation into Hanke's death.
   An NDP news release said the Opposition has received hundreds
   of messages from people who wanted to relate similar
   experiences after viewing a story by Global News on Hanke's
   death.
   The NDP news release said 333 people died while waiting for
   surgery in Saskatchewan in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

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