'We're the forgotten ones': B.C. premier to meet with woman who took herself off transplant list due to costs
B.C.'s premier has agreed to meet with a Princeton woman who says she had to fundraise to pay for life-saving transplant surgery in Vancouver that she desperately needs.
Christina Derksen-Unrau said when she first learned she was a candidate for a double lung transplant, she didn’t know the financial cost the surgery would carry.
“Twenty-six days before I was set to meet with the transplant team doctor, I was told I had to come up with $20,000,” she said.
That money, she learned, would be needed to cover accommodation and living expenses for three to six months in Vancouver post-surgery. Without it, she wouldn’t be put on the transplant list.
“It’s like somebody just pulled the bottom out of our world,” she said.
Derksen-Unrau, who has asthma, emphysema and lung cancer, learned from other organ recipients that the costs can sometimes be even higher. She said she had no choice but to temporarily take herself off the transplant list and start an online fundraiser.
Her financial predicament is not isolated.
Courtenay’s William Hastings was flown to Vancouver General Hospital 10 days ago because he also needs a double lung transplant.
“I’m so sick, I can’t leave here,” he explained.
While incredibly grateful to his medical team, Hastings’ illness means he can no longer work and he’s worried about the costs of living in Vancouver. His wife has come over to be with him and he will spend months in the city post-surgery.
“We have some money from saving and working. Beg borrow plead. I don’t know. What do you gotta do? Sell the house? Who knows? Don’t know what the future is,” Hastings said.
“We’re a big province. Anyone who has to travel rural, it’s a huge, financial, stressful burden,” he added. “There are some programs out here, (but) not enough."
Paul Adams is with the B.C. Rural Health Network and said changes are needed to a system that’s been broken for many years.
“We’re putting this burden on somebody that’s already facing life-altering care. So we need as a society to pick up the tab,” he said. “I unfortunately hear these stories continually and I’ve spoken to people in the past who are no longer with us because they couldn’t afford treatment in a longer system."
Kelowna senior Linda Morris received a double lung transplant last October.
“I’m doing really, really well,” she said. “It truly was a miracle that saved my life.”
She had to pull money out of retirement savings to cover the costs of staying in Vancouver after her operation.
“I was very, very fortunate, blessed that I had the funds to be able to do that,” she said. “We were down there three and a half months. And just the accommodation was more than $15,000."
Morris said she understands the anxiety other transplant patients, like Derksen-Unrau, are feeling.
“I can only imagine how horrible it is for her. Because the fact that you’re so sick and money is what’s stopping you from getting a life-saving surgery, it’s just wrong,” Morris said.
“I’m disgusted with how we’re treated. It’s like we’re the forgotten ones,” said Derksen-Unrau.
She had been trying for weeks to speak with Premier David Eby, so CTV News asked the premier if he intended to meet with her. He said he would.
“I look forward to meeting with her to talk with her about suggestions she has about her particular health journey and things we can do to make her life easier,” the premier told CTV News.
Derksen-Unrau was overwhelmed with emotion at learning Eby would speak with her.
“That is wonderful. Thank you so much,” she said as she fought back tears. “That’s one of the people that needs to pay attention to this, because it’s happening in his backyard."
So far, her GoFundMe page has raised more than $25,000 for her post-surgery expenses. She has to do some tests and hopes to be back on the organ transplant list within weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.