A naturopath accused of acting as a doctor by the Coll\u00e8ge des m\u00e9decins du Qu\u00e9bec agreed to pay $15,000 in fines Tuesday after she pleaded guilty to three charges brought against her last year, including two counts involving a young woman who took her own life after being treated for what might have been Lyme disease.<\/p>\n
Kadeja Lefebvre made a brief appearance before Quebec Court Judge Alexandre St-Onge at the Montreal courthouse, where she pleaded guilty to two charges involving 22-year-old Am\u00e9lie Champagne and another person she treated.<\/p>\n
The judge agreed to sentence her to pay a $5,000 fine for each of the three charges. Eight other charges filed against Lefebvre last year were withdrawn as part of a settlement reached between her and the Coll\u00e8ge des m\u00e9decins.<\/p>\n
Lefebvre admitted to practising medicine during 2022 that she was not permitted to do and while she was not a member of the Coll\u00e8ge des m\u00e9decins. She also pleaded guilty to a charge involving prescriptions of medicine and other substances for Champagne. Both were violations of the Coll\u00e8ge des m\u00e9decin\u2019s professional order.<\/p>\n
The judge noted the guilty pleas avoided the necessity of a trial that would have lasted a week.<\/p>\n
Champagne took her own life in Montreal on Sept. 11, 2022. A coroner\u2019s inquiry into the death was held at the Montreal courthouse during 2024, revealing Champagne had suffered since the age of 16 from symptoms associated with Lyme disease. She consulted many doctors and the naturopath before she took her own life.<\/p>\n
Lyme disease is an infection transmitted through the bite of infected ticks. If it is not caught early, it can cause complications, including arthritis.<\/p>\n
According to the report filed by coroner Julie Kim-Godin, Champagne lost interest in her routines, lost weight because of a loss of appetite, and suffered from insomnia and fatigue during the weeks before she died.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a university student and generally did well academically. She held a part-time job, was socially active, maintained a healthy lifestyle and participated in several sports. She also had the opportunity to pursue various hobbies and travel with her family,\u201d the coroner wrote in her report. \u201cOn the surface, she seemed to lead a perfect life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report also describes the dark side of the young woman\u2019s life. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom her teenage years onward, Ms. Champagne sought to understand the cause of her numerous symptoms and tried to find solutions. Over the years, and particularly in adulthood, she consulted a significant number of health-care professionals and underwent multiple tests. Several diagnostic hypotheses were considered, including multiple sclerosis, vestibular syndrome and fibromyalgia, but no definitive diagnosis was ever made, nor was any solution or even partial relief found,\u201d the coroner wrote. \u201cHer loved ones reported that she thus endured years of medical uncertainty, bouncing from one doctor to another within the public system, without any clear direction. She felt particularly misunderstood and alone, and had the impression that her condition was often trivialized.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report describes how, beginning in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Champagne saw several doctors, including a psychiatrist and a neurologist, to find out what was behind her symptoms. Champagne was convinced she might have had Lyme disease. Most of the doctors focused on treating the symptoms.<\/p>\n
Months before Champagne died, she began consulting a general practitioner who specialized in Lyme disease and worked with Lefebvre.<\/p>\n
According to the coroner\u2019s report, Lefebvre decided to proceed with treatment for Lyme disease.<\/p>\n
When the doctor testified at the coroner\u2019s inquiry, she said she was cautious about the diagnosis and that the goal of Lefebvre\u2019s treatment was to prepare Champagne\u2019s gastrointestinal system for a more conventional treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is astonishing to learn that such a naturopathic treatment was sold to (Champagne) for a considerable sum, especially since Ms. Champagne had not yet seen (the doctor in person) and had not been diagnosed with Lyme disease,\u201d the coroner wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it possible that, based on their words and actions, Ms. Champagne was led to believe that she had Lyme disease?<\/p>\n
\u201cIn any case, Ms. Champagne began the recommended naturopathic treatment, which caused her several adverse effects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Champagne later saw the doctor through a consultation held over the internet and the general practitioner diagnosed the young woman\u2019s illness as Lyme disease. The doctor came up with a treatment plan and advised Champagne to see a specialist in the United States instead of one in Quebec.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to (the doctor), the American tests were better and she therefore recommended them to all her patients,\u201d Kim-Godin wrote. <\/p>\n
Champagne continued to be focused on the possibility that she had Lyme disease and she consulted another specialist.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn June 30, 2022, (the specialist) saw Ms. Champagne and informed her that the tests done by the American laboratory came back positive for Babesia odocoilei, a co-infection of Lyme disease, and indeterminate (for another type of infection),\u201d the coroner wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs stated in the documents from (the lab), these results should be interpreted with caution and used for research purposes only.\u201d<\/p>\n
The goal of the inquiry was not to assign blame for Champagne\u2019s death, but to find ways to prevent future situations similar to those that led to Champagne\u2019s suicide. <\/p>\n
Among the 19 recommendations made by the coroner, she called on the Coll\u00e8ge des m\u00e9dicins to \u201creview the quality of the practice and actions taken by the naturopath who provided care to the deceased in 2022, with a view to improving practices and protecting the public.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also called on the professional order to \u201creview the quality of the professional and ethical conduct of physicians in private clinics who followed (Champagne) in 2022, more specifically in relation to their attitude, the quality of communication, the assessment, treatment and monitoring of the deceased\u2019s physical and psychological health, with a view to improving practices and protecting the public.\u201d<\/p>\n