Letter to Theresa Oswald
Minister of Health
Dear Minister:
I am writing to you today to express my concerns about what I feel is a critical health care issue in the province of Manitoba.
I am an obese woman, living in the province and I cannot access the surgery which will not only change, but ultimately save my life. There currently exists a pilot program, as I am certain you know. When I was referred to the program in December of 2011, I was told the waiting list for the surgery was approximately 18 months. Now, in February 2012, I have been informed that the wait list is now 30 months. When the criteria open up, I will be pushed down the list further and will have to wait about 5 years.
I have been proud to support the N.D.P. and have been a member of the party for some time. I respect the vision and the concepts behind universal health care and have defended our health care system to friends and family in the U.S. as a model of what can be achieved. I am afraid I may have to eat my words, but at least they contain no calories.
This surgery needs to be a priority in our health system. It has been PROVEN, over a number of years to eliminate excess weight to the point where knee and hip replacements are not required, where high blood pressure and high cholesterol have been eliminated, complications from asthma are reduced and heart disease and diabetes can be avoided. Investing in this surgery will be an investment that ultimately saves lives and, to be blunt, dollars. Open the criteria, by all means, but make more operating room time available as well. Fund the surgery appropriately. Don’t just open the floodgates.
I really hate the fact that I can go out of province for the surgery, or even out of the country. Both options require out of pocket expenses. I feel strongly that this encourages a tiered health care system. If I can afford it, I can fly to Mexico and have this surgery in a matter of months. There is no reason that Alberta and Ontario should be able to offer the surgery more expediently than Manitoba. Currently residents of both provinces have access to this surgery in approximately one year.
To be blunt, Minister, this province is actively discriminating by acting on the last acceptable prejudice in North America. If surgery was being denied based on skin colour or religion there would be people protesting in the streets, and well there should be. Surgery is being denied based on size and it is not right. I do not lack self-control or will power; I do not suffer from self-loathing which has cause me to over eat. I have a disease. So does every other obese person in this province. This disease can be controlled, not cured, by surgery. Surgery is not a panacea nor is it a magic bullet, but it is a powerful tool which I and other sufferers can utilize to get not only quality of life but quantity of life.
I cannot express to you how tired I am. Tired physically of not being able to tie my shoes, tired of not being able to find clothing that I enjoy wearing, tired of laughing at myself first in the hope it won’t hurt as much when other laugh at me. Tired of hurting when I go to bed and when I wake up. Tired of the foot and back pain that make exercising so difficult.
I implore you, on behalf of myself and every other obesity sufferer in this province, to increase funding toward this very necessary surgery and make it accessible to every Manitoban who requires it.
its-killen-me · 0 replies · 1822 views