I love my Mom very much. She was diagnosed with cancer last fall. It seemed to take forever for her to get in to see someone at the Cancer Institute in Victoria but that’s because it did take forever.
I know Canadians are often proud of their healthcare system but I’m not. I don’t think it should have taken months for my Mom to begin chemo. I know that, sometimes, Mom has felt as though she’s been discarded or looked over.
There is a wonderful nurse named Holly who works at the Chemo clinic here in Nanaimo. She’s the first person who has really seemed to be there for Mom. (Her Oncologist isn’t a bad guy but he’s in another city.)
The cancer Society has a lot of volunteers but no one told us about it until we spoke to Holly. We didn’t even know that there was a branch of the Society here. So many volunteers working so hard and yet there are still so many gaps.
Someone told me “Oh, just go down to the states and pay for treatment.” We can’t do that. Most people in Canada probably can’t do that. And why should we?
I love my Mom very much. She is brave and loving. She is my greatest support and the most loving person that I know. I will be there with her every step of the way. I wish that the Healthcare system would be as well.
Kinzie Photography 