NEED TO KNOW
- Eight years ago, Jolene Van Alstine was diagnosed with a rare condition that causes severe bone pain, nausea and vomiting
- She’s been waiting years for surgery to treat her disorder but doctors have not been available to take on her case
- She now wants to end her life with medical aid in dying rather than continue dealing with the untreated pain
A woman is considering medical aid in dying after being unable to receive the treatment she desperately needs.
Eight years ago, Jolene Van Alstine, from Saskatchewan, Canada, was diagnosed with normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism (nPHPT), a rare condition that causes nausea, vomiting, weakened bones and extreme bone pain.
“It has been horrific,” she told Global News. “Every day I get up and I’m sick to my stomach and I throw up and I throw up.”
“I haven’t left the house in eight years except to go to the doctor for blood work or to be admitted into the hospital,” she said.
Van Alstine has undergone three surgeries for her condition. However, she still requires specialized care to locate and remove an overactive parathyroid gland. There is currently no surgeon available in the province to perform the procedure. Additionally, in order to be seen out of province, she must be referred by an endocrinologist, and none of them are taking new patients.
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Van Alstine’s husband, Miles Sundeen, told the outlet that her health journey has been long and difficult to navigate.
“It’s a complex case because she has had surgeries already but they haven’t been 100% successful,” he said. “We really need help to find an endocrinologist and a surgeon that will take her on that are very familiar with more complex cases.”
After going without treatment for so long, Van Alstine’s pain drove her to apply for medical aid in dying (MAID).
The choice was available to her under Canada’s MAID legislation, which went into effect in June 2016. The law allows patients with terminal illnesses to end their lives with lethal medication either taken themselves or administered by a physician or nurse.
Global News/Youtube (2)
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Van Alstine has since been approved for MAID by one doctor and is awaiting a second approval.
“My friends have stopped visiting me. I’m isolated. I’ve been alone lying on the couch for eight years, sick and curled up in a ball, wishing for the day to end,” she said. “I go to bed at six at night because I can’t stand to be awake anymore.”
Her husband added, “When you’re dealing with somebody that has felt that the only option for her in her life is to go through with MAID, we’re gonna go with whatever direction it takes.”
Van Alstine told CBC that she would prefer to be treated rather than pursue MAID, but after years waiting, she feels like that’s not a possibility. Jared Clarke, Canadian politician, spoke out about Van Alstine’s case and encouraged the health minister to meet with her about getting her surgery taken care of.
“Nobody should be forced to choose between unbearable suffering and death,” he said. “No family should be put in this position.”
“The hopelessness has just taken over her life,” Sundeen told the Regina Leader-Post.
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