REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Leader Ryan Meili was joined by Sarah Turnbull and her daughter Blake, who lost access to her pediatric therapies as part of the 4th wave health system slowdown and is currently waiting for surgery.
“Like so many Saskatchewan kids with complex needs, Blake’s care was disrupted by Scott Moe’s health system lockdown,” said Meili. “The consequence of the choice to take the summer off and let the 4th wave run wild are being borne by the very people who needed care the most.”
Blake is two and a half years old and has spina bifida. When health workers were redeployed in the 4th wave, Blake’s spinal cord clinic was suspended. She lost access to physical therapy, occupational therapy, and her neurological, orthopedics, and urology monitoring appointments. She is in need of getting another tendon surgery with no date on the horizon. Blake has needed three emergency brain surgeries already and her family still doesn’t know the long-term impact of her loss of access to care.
“We came to the Legislature because it’s important that this government meet the families whose futures they’ve been gambling with. This government has treated us like we are disposable. Our therapies, appointments and surgeries have been in jeopardy over and over again,” said Sarah Turnbull. “In addition to our overwhelmed critical care services, our therapies have been taken away. Blake is two and a half and in a key developmental phase and our therapy has been cancelled too many times to count. Denial does not work, wishing away the problems doesn’t change anything. We live with the consequences of their inaction.”
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I want to wish you and your family a merry Christmas and a happy new year from everyone here at the Saskatchewan NDP Caucus.
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