Monday December 28, 2009

Our meeting with CBC went great today,


The point was made and hopefully people as well as the Government and health officials will take note and do the right thing and extend Chris' stay. Maybe with the wisdom that is picked up we will be able to build a place here to run therapy for brain injury, as there are hundreds and hundreds of people in our home province with brain injury and very few of them will get the rehab that is necessary for them to move forward and even have a chance at life.

Please let everyone you know and ask them to spread the word that the CBC program GO PUBLIC will be on Tuesday January the 5th, 2010. CBC radio morning news as well as the internet at CBC.ca, where the story will be in print form with pictures and video.
Later make sure to watch the CBC evening news in BC and on the CBC National news across the country that same night.
It will be extremely important that everyone leave a comment on the CBC webpage at the end of the story, the more comments and feelings expressed the more important it will become for government to deal with.


With all the distractions happening over the last month I realize that the updates for Christopher has been few and far between, just wanted to let you know this therapy is still going on strong and he still doing great, we hope to keep it that way.

But as I expected early last week we had social worker from Surrey phone the social worker in Ponoka to ask what the feeling was I guess looking for a heads up before talking to me. I told the social worker in Ponoka to have the social worker in Surrey to call me directly which he did.

The social worker from Surrey called and asked me what my feelings were about Chris coming home, what my plans were for Chris and had I thought of an extended care place I would be happy with because he could not stay in an acute care bed in the hospital when he returned.

Interesting because I believe it states you must take the first available bed and do not get a choice, which also means you can sign for acceptance and end up in a hole of a place. Then it is too late to change or do anything about it.

Here again is the health ministry working behind the scenes with smoke and mirrors spinning the plan into motion and pleading ignorance when questioned on it.

Enough said and wasted on the health system plan or lack of, it has already taken an untold amount of my time away from Christopher.

I was amazed how quickly the government can band together to suppress or pretend to have never heard something when it is needed but when asked to help or departments to work together you can feel like you are talking to a brick wall.

I proceeded to tell her that my plan was to finish therapy with Chris in June in Ponoka and have him return home, to his home to continue therapy that was designed by the therapists in Ponoka.

So it turns out exactly the way I said it would a month ago, on word that the extension was only going to be six weeks not the three months. I told those who would listen that the health ministry was looking for extended care for Chris not rehab. We have not to this day received a reason for their decision, not a call to explain, not an email in return to our requests, they tell us on one hand that they are looking into the extension and haven't made a decision yet (still waiting for more information) but they have their people already preparing for an extended care facility for Chris. Which means there will be no rehab or no further continuing of Chris's therapy to move forward basically they have put a gun to his head and said this is the end.

I do cling to the hope that there is still that small percentage of hope that they're going to change their minds come to their senses to do the right thing and provide an extension that Chris so desperately needs. But this teleconference won't take place until 11 January four days before Chris comes home.

The only MLA from all letters written to even acknowledge, was Gordon Hogg’s office from Whiterock they were concerned and said they would like to help and would check out with the health Ministry and Kevin Falcon, who is my and Christopher's MLA and get back to me. Tuesday morning they called me back to say that Mr. Falcon's office had received letters and he was aware as to what was going on and that no decision had been made, they were still waiting for more paperwork to come from Ponoka. I let Gordon Hogg’s office know that I had just been talking with the doctor in charge in Ponoka, and no such request has ever been made. For almost a month they have been telling people that they are looking into it, and taking care of it. i guess they just forgot to send the request just a minor over sight.
All of you who have read the previous blogs I have posted saw the letters from the Halvar Jonson Center in Ponoka from the Therapist, doctor and from Chris' neurologist here in Surrey. Can you all read english did any of you have trouble understanding the wording.

I have had a ten year old read it and even they understand what is being said and what Chris' best interest would be? Getting lost in all of this is that there is to be a minimum amount of therapy to be happening, just for him to survive, let alone move ahead with even the slightest chance of improving further. If Chris has to return to BC all the work we have done over the last two years was in vain, why would you save a life then walk away it makes no sense?


I don't know how you people would feel about your own MLA twisting the truth or just not being up front and honest to a fellow MLA and the Health Minister none the less, but I am appalled, I am still in shock listening to this MLA preach the word from the health ministry as if it were the truth without questioning the facts. I even gave an accounting for all the things that were being told, that were wrong but I guess because I am not their constituent it's not worth the follow up.

I really do believe though that this MLA owes an explanation to his constituent that wrote the letter, so as to answer this constituents concern.

I would think that we should all be a little concerned about our well-being.

The day before all of this transpired I was also told by the communications department in the Alberta Health Services, (which is their equivalent of our BC Health) that I would no longer be able to have CBC's cameramen or reporters or anyone from CBC set foot on Alberta Health Services property, so basically there would be no film no coverage, no story, I asked why, as it was to promote the extraordinary brain injury work being done in Ponoka, and to help everybody with an injury be informed, not just Chris I was told that Alberta has a good working relationship with BC and they didn't want to harm it, so basically BC stuck their fingers across the province line and blocked our story or tried to block our story from being told. It would seem the walls they can through at you are never ending, just think of the tax dollars being used to suppress instead of helping! What a waste.

It really makes you wonder who's looking out for you or me or our families with MLA's not being honest to each other, do you think for one moment that they would hesitate in holding the truth back from us stupid citizens, taxpayers and voters.

I think it's about time that some of these Ministers, their assistants as well as all the people in positions to deal with families and health issues of this magnitude get out into the working trenches and visit some of these places where the work takes place day in and day out and experience it firsthand maybe it would be an awaking for them.

Brain injury is a tremendously large problem in our society, with little or no funding, I can understand all the skirting the issues when pressed, as they do not know what to say.

Wouldn’t it make sense to put people in place that care and make decisions in your best interest and especially in the positions that make these important life altering plans?

I will attach links below to get you to the CBC.
Worth saying again:

Please let everyone you know and ask them to spread the word that the CBC program GO PUBLIC will be on Tuesday January the 5th, 2010. CBC radio morning news as well as the internet at CBC.ca, where the story will be in print form with pictures and video.
Later make sure to watch the CBC evening news in BC and on the CBC National news across the country that same night.
It will be extremely important that everyone leave a comment on the CBC webpage at the end of the story, the more comments and feelings expressed the more important it will become for government to deal with.

But most of all please tell everyone you know, tell them to tell everyone they know to go to the website for CBC at the end of the story on go public about Christopher to leave their comments to leave their feelings to open up and let’s make a change together.

Thank you so much for following, thank you so much for caring, I am eternally indebted to you for your support and assistance in trying to make a change for Chris's life.

Kevin

Links:

http://www.cbc.ca/bc/

Go Public:

http://www.cbc.ca/bc/features/gopublic/

CBC News; Vancouver at 5, 5:30 and 6: Weekdays 5:00, 5:30 & 6:00 p.m
CBC Radio & TV. audio Listen live to CBC Radio 690 AM/ 88.1 FM