Grieving wife of man who died waiting for treatment in Alberta ER shares her story

EDMONTON – Niharika Sreekumar’s husband died in her arms in a hospital emergency ward after waiting hours for care. But she says the hardest day of her life is yet to come.

On Wednesday she will be putting her husband Prashanth, who was the family’s sole provider, to rest. Her three kids, their grandparents and several community members will be by her side.

“The hardest day is his last rites…because I don’t want him to go,” the 41-year-old said in an interview with The Canadian Press Monday.

“If I had the choice, I would just keep him. His presence, just having to see him, touch and feel him would be my strength.”

She said her three kids — aged three, 10 and 14 — haven’t stopped crying and asking where their “superhero” is since his death a week ago at Grey Nuns Community Hospital.

“My oldest … he cries every night and my youngest, every morning, he’s like, ‘When is daddy coming?'” she said.

She said her daughter kept calling her dad, asking for updates on the stabbing chest pains he was feeling before his death on Dec. 22.

“Now she’s mad at the system. My kids feel like their father was killed.”

The Alberta government has ordered Acute Care Alberta and Covenant Health to jointly review the circumstances and factors leading to the death of Prashanth after he reportedly waited nearly eight hours to see a doctor.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, in a social media post on Boxing Day, wrote: “I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the family and their loved ones during this difficult time.”

Niharika said her husband, an accountant, was at his office when he began feeling chest pain. 

His client drove him to the ER. She said she met him there two hours later as she was taking care of her youngest son, who has special needs.

She said the emergency room felt like a tuna can, but she continued waiting in line and made it clear to a nurse multiple times that her husband’s chest pain was worsening.

She said he waited 7.5 hours at the hospital, with tests showing his blood pressure was rising, until a doctor finally called his name.

In the doctor’s office, Niharika said she and her father-in-law experienced what she wishes for no family.

“He just stood up for like seconds. And then he said, ‘Niharika, I’m very dizzy.’ Then he collapsed. Those were his last words to me,” she said.

She said he fell into her arms.

She said she began tapping his face and eventually screaming after the doctor told her there was no pulse.

“Fifteen minutes later, that doctor told me that they couldn’t save him,” said Niharika.

Covenant Health said in a statement Monday it can’t provide specific details of Prashanth’s case.

“We can confirm that this patient received care and that the case is now with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Covenant is participating fully in the Acute Care Alberta review,” it said.

“Our thoughts remain with the family at this difficult time.”

Covenant Health said it also couldn’t say more about how the hospital workers are doing since the man’s death due to privacy reasons.

Niharika said she doesn’t believe a review will serve justice and is planning to ask a lawyer about what options she has.

“If I have to fight this battle till I get justice for him, I will do that. I will also work to maintain his legacy. He had plans for the next 20 years.”

She said her husband did everything he was supposed to get help but still died. She said sharing his story has resonated with a lot of people. She has been flooded with messages from people who are fearful of their own loved ones dying while waiting for treatment.

She said many strangers who have been touched by the family’s recent tragedy are planning to attend her husband’s funeral.

She said her husband was an active member of the community and loved by the people he worked with.

She said one of his first jobs in Canada was actually in Alberta’s health-care system after he moved to Canada from India as a teen.

She said she used to ask him if he would consider leaving Canada because of how unaffordable the country was becoming.

“But he had this loyalty somehow to Canada because he said, ‘I was born in India, but I was made in Canada,'” she said.

Although a GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up for the family, the mother said it’s not enough. She plans to take over her husband’s business as she’s also an accountant but needs to find a fulltime caretaker for her son with special needs.

She said she was her husband’s business partner before she became a  housewife to take care of their son three years ago.

“But it will be very difficult to fill his shoes,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2025.