A resident of the Îles-de-la-Madeleine is in an extremely difficult situation, being forced to undergo hemodialysis treatment in Quebec. Even if there is a nursing station in her region, Guylaine Nadeau does not have access to it due to a lack of staff.
“I feel really forgotten … like it doesn’t matter what I live,” she told TVA Nouvelles.
This means that the lady originally from Fatima fights two battles at the same time. One against the disease, the other to receive their treatments at home on the Magdalen Islands instead of at the Hôtel Dieu Québec.
“The difficult thing is that we have no help, neither from the hospital nor from the government. We are trapped here. For how long? I’m a positive person, but sometimes it fails at some point,” she confided, touched.
She has polycystic kidney disease and is on hemodialysis for life or until she can receive a kidney transplant. The procedure called for the first three or four weeks of treatment to take place at the Hôtel Dieu de Québec before returning to the Magdalen Islands. But seven weeks later, he is still unable to return to his region.
There has been a hemodialysis station on the islands since 2019. Chairs are empty, but due to a lack of nursing staff, no more patients are admitted there. Recruitment is difficult.
I came on 29.01. I left [des Îles] and I didn’t come back. I was told: “You stay here”. That’s it or you die. When I return to the islands, I let myself go. I will not have any treatments. But if I stay, what will happen to us? I do not live.”
The consequences are great. Guylaine and her spouse Jean-Marc had to move into a modest flat in Beauport, which cost them more than their mortgage on the islands. You feel uprooted. Their autistic daughter is with them, so she no longer has access to their follow-up visits on the islands.
“It costs us $4,000 a month to be in Quebec on top of our home on the islands. Besides being here, I have to grapple with all of this. What did I do to deserve this? It’s not a vacation. Since we’ve been here, we’ve been racking our brains, what will become of us? will someone help us Do you understand our situation? Who says “this world doesn’t deserve this”?” asked the lady.
Benefits for spouse carers end in April. He works in the fishing industry, the season of which is about to start again, but he doesn’t know if he can work again as leaving his wife alone during her treatments in Quebec is out of the question.
Îles-de-la-Madeleine MP Joël Arseneau wrote to the Minister of Health asking him to find a solution.
He had a discussion with Christian Dubé in the last few hours. The Office of the Minister recognized the specificities of the islands and the importance of local supplies. The firm is sensitive to Ms Nadeau’s situation and is working with the CISSS des Îles to find the best solutions.
Guylaine Nadeau knows exactly what she wants to go home.