https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/tia-mcfarlane-patient-pandemic-new-brunswick-1.6295007
N.B. woman still waiting for surgery, 2 years after tumour was found
Tia McFarlane is losing eyesight as neurosurgery delay continues
The wait for that long-awaited phone call from the surgeon's office continues as her health steadily declines, taking away her mobility and blurring her vision.
McFarlane, 45, now relies on a walker to get around her home in Beresford, about 10 kilometres north of Bathurst. She had a makeshift ramp installed to be able to access the front door.
"I struggle because I don't know what's going on," she said. "It's just really frustrating."
The pituitary gland, at the base of the brain, controls the growth and the function of other endocrine glands. A tumour can cause a number of health complications but can be treated with medication and surgery.
In situations where the tumour expands, removing it quickly can help prevent adverse impacts.
'A ticking time bomb'
The health complications began gradually three to four years before an official diagnosis.
McFarlane was experiencing migraines, blurred vision and hair loss in clumps
"I knew something was wrong, I just didn't know what was wrong at the time," she said.
A hormone level was unusually high in her body, which prompted her gynecologist to refer her for an MRI. The scan detected a pituitary prolactinoma, a non-cancerous tumour, which was diagnosed by a neurologist in Bathurst in September 2019.
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The tumour began growing in 2015 and is now pushing on McFarlane's optic nerve and motor centre.
"It's basically being told you have a ticking time bomb in your head," she said. "It was really hard to accept."
The next step was a referral to a neurosurgeon at the Moncton Hospital for removal of the tumour, which was now blurring her vision. The neurologist told McFarlane in 2019 to expect an opening for a consultation in early 2020.
Then the pandemic swept across New Brunswick, putting another layer of pressure on the health-care system and reducing services. That call from the neurosurgeon never came, and she is still waiting.
'I don't feel like myself'
McFarlane waited a year and a half for the second MRI, done in this year, and is still waiting for a third.
It's been more than a year since she last saw a neurologist, despite multiple referrals and dozens of calls.
In July, she started to experience pain and losing feeling in her feet. She currently uses a walker to get around and is also waiting to see a rheumatologist.
McFarlane needed to have a ramp installed to access her home
after she started experiencing mobility problems. (Alexandre
Silberman/CBC)
With reduced mobility, McFarlane's hobbies of collecting sea glass on the beach, crafting and volunteering through her church have become nearly impossible.
"The loss of use of my legs and hands have taken away so much from me," she said. "I don't feel like myself."
Growing wait for specialists
New Brunswickers are increasingly facing challenges accessing timely care from health care specialists. Throughout the pandemic, that problem has grown worse.
The president of the New Brunswick Medical Society said wait lists for specialists have been growing in recent years.
Dr. Mark MacMillan said a lack of resources such as sufficient support staff limits the ability to provide care for patients efficiency.
"This is obviously an issue about physician retention and recruitment, but it's also an issue in terms of the system itself," he said in an interview.
Wait times vary in the province and can be especially long for surgical intervention, rheumatology and other internal medicines.
Many New Brunswickers also lack easy access to a primary care provider, making it difficult to get referrals to a specialist. Nearly 40,000 people are on the list to get a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
MacMillan said physicians are doing their best but often lack tools, such as accessible to timely diagnostic imaging or hospital resources. More specialists are also needed.
"We don't want to have anyone in New Brunswick wait any longer than they absolutely have to to see a specialist, but unfortunately we are working as fast and as efficiently as we can," he said.
Losing hope
McFarlane has frequently tried calling the neurosurgeon's office for an update on her referral but hasn't been able to speak to someone. She's still searching for answers and wants to know if her tumour has grown since the last scan.
Appointments with other health-care providers, such as a nurse practitioner, have become challenging since the pandemic.
McFarlane said the lack of updates on her condition has left her in despair and worried she'll completely lose her eyesight while waiting. She questions if her vision could have been saved if the surgery hadn't been delayed.
"My life has pretty much stopped, and I don't know what to do," she said.
"We are being failed by our Medicare system right now. We shouldn't have to wait so long and suffer."
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dominic-leblanc-irving-lymphoma-1.5215637
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dominic-leblanc-irving-lymphoma-1.5215637
Ethics czar erred in approving LeBlanc's use of Irving plane: Democracy Watch
'Given his immune system is compromised, his doctors determined that he could not travel commercial'
The Canadian Press · Posted: Jul 17, 2019 4:44 PM ET
Dominic LeBlanc addresses the media in Saskatoon, Sask., Wednesday, September 12, 2018. (Matt Smith/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The House of Commons' ethics watchdog should never have approved a flight taken by Liberal cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc on a private aircraft owned by J.D. Irving, says an organization that advocates for greater government accountability.
Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, said ethics commissioner Mario Dion erred in pre-approving LeBlanc's private trip from Moncton to Montreal aboard an Irving plane, to see a doctor for cancer treatment.
"The ethics commissioner acted like an unethical lapdog by approving this unethical gift of a flight," Conacher said.
The flight, first reported by The Globe and Mail, took place on June 13, according to a filing on the ethics commissioner's website.
LeBlanc is being treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and has been on medical leave since April. He needed to attend a hospital in Montreal and was told by his doctors he could not travel commercially, according to a spokesperson in his office.
He travelled from Moncton to Montreal on a "non-commercial chartered or private aircraft" owned by J.D. Irving Ltd. — a company headed by a personal friend of LeBlanc's who owns and is affiliated with companies involved in shipbuilding, oil, forestry and agriculture.
"Given his immune system is compromised, his doctors determined that he could not travel commercial," said Mikaela Harrison, a communications assistant in LeBlanc's office.
"All travel was pre-approved by the commissioner."
A statement provided by Dion's office says he "considered the facts that were presented to him and granted his approval under Section 12 of the (Conflict of Interest Act) related to travel," adding that the sparse details provided in the public filing are all that Dion is permitted to say on the matter.
Influence over the minister
That section of the law says that ministers and others cannot accept free non-commercial flights except in exceptional circumstances — generally considered to be emergencies in remote locations — or with the commissioner's approval. It doesn't spell out what should lead the commissioner to approve or forbid a flight and Dion would not elaborate.
Conacher said LeBlanc should have instead chartered a private plane and paid for it himself, rather than accept a gift from the owner of a company that regularly lobbies the federal government.
He pointed to four charter airline companies that can be hired for private flights within eastern Canada, one of which indicates online that it operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can be in the air within 40 minutes.
"The general rule is, you can't accept any gift that might reasonably be seen to have been given to influence you, and a gift of a free flight from a company that lobbies the federal government — anyone would reasonably see that as a gift that could have influence over the minister," Conacher said.
'No exceptional circumstance'
LeBlanc did establish a conflict of interest screen with the ethics commissioner's office after he was appointed to cabinet in 2015 that bars him from taking part in decisions that directly affect James D. Irving and his companies.
But Conacher said this conflict screen doesn't make the Irving flight OK, it makes the situation worse.
"He's supposed to stay away from anything to do with Irving, so this just compounds it."
Conacher also raised concern about the lack of transparency involved in Dion's decision. He believes all rulings and decisions of the conflict of interest commissioner should be made public, as is the case for ethics complaints that are investigated by Dion's office — they lead to reports that lay out facts and Dion's reasoning in sustaining or rejecting the complaints.
"There's no exceptional circumstance here and you're not required to take this flight from the Irvings," Conacher said. "Do like anyone else would have to do anywhere else in the country — if they didn't want to drive themselves, charter a plane."
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
The problem is his exposure to infectious diseases. Trains would be worse than commercial flights.
It’s great that he appears to be beating cancer but you can not actually believe it’s fair to those that had to see him stepping to the front of the line.
The complaint is from an organization that leans left, some where between NDP and Liberals.
The problem with the issue is that if you and your loved ones get to go tothe front of the line you are not going to do anything for those stuck at the end of the line.
Wrong....someone who is open and transparent will seek ethical approval...because the lack of understanding that is overwhelmingly obvious in these posts.
how much time has he spent in Ottawa working for us while getting paid full time!!! should have stepped back from his post while ill... but $$$$$ for nothing and flights for free!!!!
Most employees have sick days...especially govt employees. Do you not know this???
the difference is that in this case Canadians did not pay for the travel!!! big difference with McKay where we all paid!!!
The rules are always different for the privileged.
I wish Mr. Le Blanc good health and a successful recovery, however, there is no denying the obvious.
Yes he could have....too bad NB does not have the same standard of care as elsewhere in Canada so that he could have driven and parked. That is the injustice!
This guy is an embarrassment, I'm sorry he has cancer. It's a conflict of interest, don't try and point it any other way.
Please explain the conflict of interest and how taxpayer money was misappropriated??
If you don't see the obvious,you're the real problem
Quoting Mike Murphy is never a good starting point!! kind of like quoting Donald Trump!
Within YouTube can be found a quote of a letter to me from Mikey Murphy when he was the Minister of Health for NB in 2007 N'esy Pas?
January 30, 2007
WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Mr. David Amos
Dear Mr. Amos:
This will acknowledge receipt of a copy of your e-mail of December 29, 2006 to Corporal Warren McBeath of the RCMP. Because of the nature of the allegations made in your message, I have taken the measure of forwarding a copy to Assistant Commissioner Steve Graham of the RCMP °J" Division in Fredericton.
Sincerely,
Honourable Michael B. Murphy
Minister of Health
CM/cb
Maybe you don't have cancer? or maybe your community does a fundraiser? or maybe you live in Mtl or Toronto? or maybe ....
What benefit? getting medical treatment? all Canadian get this especially if you live in have provinces and not NB.
I think Mikey thinks he is Jim Irving
Conflict? he has removed himself from all decision with Irvings because they are friends then your friends cannot help you when you have a life-threatening disease??? Altruism can only take you so far!
When you have cancer and need treatment for it, let us all know how straight your mind is and how clear your thoughts are.
he is not making decision on Irving files because they are friends it is cleared by ethics then the guy has major health issues and his friends cannot help him? and he declared it with ethics. you would prefer a lose-lose scenario??? Maybe all elected officials should take an oath to disavow all friends??? really? no wonder we are in this mess.
The same thing would have happened if he was a Conservative. An oil executive would have given him a free flight on a private plane. This is not a partisan issue.
And a Con hack is a con hack is a con hack...
Waiting for you to need help some day.
for cancer...how sick can you be?
Similar to yours?
No need for a plane....you are on your own stratosphere
Why not ask them yourself??
Irving does sponsor a program called
'fuel the care' for families travelling to
the IWK in Halifax for their children.
Chalk this one up as the adult version !!!
mike kennedy
Democracy watch is a lobby group!....wake up!
Have you ever follow their messaging? You would not ask the question. Hint....they support the CPC.
Or when a CPC hack takes advantage of someone's health to try and create a scandal out of nothing!!!
Mikey have you had a family member with cancer? you would have appreciated that some hack stranger tries to gain political advantage over their dire situation??? I think any decent human would agree that this would be a disgusting cheap shot. if you don't agree then please let me know the next time you have a family member with cancer...so I can deliver an equal dose of medicine.
It is not your money!!!!! get over it.
Have you looked up the word "recuse"??? the irvings get contracts from all govts...especially PCs in NB. They are a major company and conduct their business with whoever is in office. I actually think it is better for us poor taxpayers when these relationships are disclosed up front like Leblanc did and avoid being part of the process. you would prefer when your buddies in the CPC take gifts without declaring it????
Name one contract that was awarded to Irvings that Leblance was the decision maker?? This is not Higgs in NB.
the problem with your logic is that they were friends before and he has recused himself for all files involved himself from these cases...do you know what recuse means???
As you stated yesterday...since you are still in school you still have some homework to do.
You mean what PC in NB have listed as their platform policy??
Another week another liberal ethics violation
Leblanc is surely benefitting from this "gift" . How about you trade places with him???
If these Canadians are within a couple of hours drive from Mtl, Qc, Toronto, Halifax, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Hamilton, etc....then they do not need to travel 1200 kms to get treatment. IF you are in NB then you are screwed. The first case of this cancer in NB Only if you have a super rare cancer do you have that incredible privilege. How about you trade places with him or donate your bone marrow??
yes nice transaction...I save your life old friend and you will grant all my wishes...if you survive!!! How twisted to see something sinister when someone's life is in the balance!
So are many people like athletes, law enforcement, military personnel. So what is your point?
" Apparently retired politicians are more equal than regular Canadians."
Bernie, do you have a problem in comprehending the following statement?
"LeBlanc's office says the minister, who has been on medical leave since April, needed to attend a hospital in Montreal and was told by his doctors he could not travel commercially because he has a compromised immune system."
EVERYONE who goes through chemotherapy have a compromised immune system.
Not all have an aggressive disease that requires a bone marrow transplant not available in NB that requires either a 12 hour drive or a commercial flight with all the infectious bugs for someone going through toxic chemotherapy. Not much empathy on this garbage site.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/2718120/integrity-yea-right
Yeah! There must be an underground network where dying politicians are flown for medical treatment every day.
Slow news day when we create a scandal for a politician who has a life threatening cancer and needs to leave him home province for treatment elsewhere in Canada. Maybe the scandal should be why there is no bone marrow transplant in NB so he could drive or walk to his treatment?????
the fact that this is a story is BS. Trade places and we will attack you!
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