Winnipeg man in battle for control over his life after being placed in public trustee guardianship

Imagine having no access to your home, your bank accounts, or medical records with seemingly nowhere to turn.

That is the nightmarish situation Winnipeg’s Paul Cameron Miller has found himself in since last January, when he was placed under the guardianship of Manitoba’s public trustee.

The Winnipeg musician’s battle began last December after he inadvertently froze his feet walking to the local pharmacy and was later diagnosed with dementia while hospitalized.

He believes that diagnosis was caused by the combination of his seizure medication and the medication he was given at the hospital, making him appear incapable of taking care of himself, which is when he was placed under the care of the public trustee.

“A lot of the things I was experiencing were based upon that sort of vagueness that was happening because of these medications not necessarily coinciding with what you’d expect from the best results,” said Miller.

But once Miller was healthy enough to be released from the hospital, he discovered he wasn’t going home.

“I didn’t realize where I was being transferred to, and I ended up at the Salvation Army, and it became a serious issue for me ’cause I just wanted to go home, and there were a lot of things I was not allowed to do specifically because of the PGT (public trustee guardianship),” he explained.

Miller has since been taken in by long-time friend Kris Olafson, who called numerous hospitals before finding him at the Salvation Army, the last place she would think hospital staff would send someone thought to have dementia.

“What would you do with a person with Alzheimer’s, who was sent to this place. What would happen, they could be killed,” said Olafson, Miller’s friend of 30 years.

Olafson is now trying to help her friend get his life back, beginning with his home, which Miller has not been able to access since his hospitalization.

“He’s got his life’s work in there, he’s got his paintings, he’s got his music, his poetry, all his family photos,” said Olafson.

The two are scheduled to meet with representatives from the PGT on Wednesday, but after everything he has gone through, Miller is left wondering what would’ve happened if he didn’t have the support that he does.

“I’m a reasonably intelligent guy and I got befuddled by this completely, I can’t imagine how individuals in more desperate need and the supports I have must suffer through,” said Miller.

“I’d like to have my house back, my life back.”

CityNews reached out to the public trustee, but they declined to comment due to patient confidentiality.