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HELP TANYA BEAT PAIN, OHIP’S FAILURE
My name is Thesa Dayagbil. I came to Canada from the Philippines in 2003 and became a citizen in 2009. My family and I have lived in the GTA since 2003. I am raising funds for Tanya Savicheva, who is a friend and a coach/mentor at work. The funds will be used for her upcoming surgery in the US. The money will be withdrawn by me via this page and will be sending to Tanya right away via direct email transfer. Below is her story:
I have known Tanya professionally and personally for over 10 years - strong-willed, determined, passionate, loves to travel and always on the go. At work, she has always been considered as a fearless leader, an embodiment of an empowered woman. This is why when I learned about her debilitating condition last year, it saddened me that this woman who has so much to offer for her family, friends, community, and most importantly for herself, would be severely limited physically, emotionally and mentally due to a pelvic pain entrapment syndrome which resulted from a sports injury. Imagine a life in which you are not able to sit down without severe pain even for five minutes. Simple things like going out to the movies or a restaurant or even sitting down with your family for dinner become impossible, to say nothing about trying to continue with a job.
Unfortunately for Tanya, she became part of that growing list of health care recipients who could not find help in Canada. She went to see 60+ medical professionals, has gone through several dozen tests, but nobody could diagnose her, or relieve her pain, or refer to the specialist who knows this condition. Finally, after 1.5 years of constant pain, in July she went to the US to seek another opinion. She herself found a neurosurgeon in the US who was able to detect the nerves that were causing the pain. A surgery is needed to release the nerves and it should assist Tanya in getting back to her life.
However, while Tanya finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel, the cost of this surgery is USD 97,000. She applied to the Ontario Ministry of Health asking for funding of out-of-country medical expenses on the grounds that such procedures were not available in Canada. Little did she know that this was only the beginning of a new stressful journey.
First, the Ministry asked Tanya to “prove” that there was nobody in Canada who could perform the same surgery. Tanya provided references from a few doctors here stating this fact. Then the Ministry suddenly “found” the right specialist who was apparently the only one in Canada (how come none of the medical doctors that Tanya had seen previously even knew of his existence?) This specialist typically asks half a year for a diagnosis and then he has patients waiting 1-2 years for a surgery (and it is still unclear whether he can provide exactly the type of surgery that Tanya requires). Tanya sought assistance from her local MPP, but the OHIP’s procedure still prescribed rejection of Tanya’s funding application on the grounds of “availability” of medical help in Canada, unless the Canadian specialist advocates for her treatment in the US. However, much to Tanya’s shock, instead of advocating for funding of Tanya’s surgery in the US, the Canadian specialist has chosen to use Tanya’s case to advocate for getting more funding from the Ministry of Health for himself and his department.
Unable to spend another several years waiting in severe pain with unknown result in Canada and seeing her condition get progressively worse over time, Tanya’s only choice is to go for the surgery in the US, even though OHIP has refused to provide the funding.
Tanya is a great friend and she mentored and coached me and paved the way for several opportunities in my professional life. More importantly, she saw me not as a new immigrant in Canada back in 2006, but somebody who can positively contribute to society. Now I need to help her get the surgery as soon as possible to get her life back and to return to being a positive force in the world. We are knocking on your kind hearts to help her with her financial needs. We believe in every human being's compassion for others. This is about giving a person that second chance to get up without having to experience pain and suffering anymore. We can prove that Canada is not its inept Health Care system but a community of caring people.
Whether you know Tanya and love and respect her like many of us, or you are a kind-hearted stranger, I hope you can be part of Tanya's journey and help her be pain-free soon, not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. Since she has been failed by Canada, this surgery in the US is her only chance. Her US surgeon, who thinks that Tanya has good chances, has scheduled her for 2 surgeries, the first one is on March 5th, 2019.
Thank you so much.
Thesa Dayagbil
My name is Thesa Dayagbil. I came to Canada from the Philippines in 2003 and became a citizen in 2009. My family and I have lived in the GTA since 2003. I am raising funds for Tanya Savicheva, who is a friend and a coach/mentor at work. The funds will be used for her upcoming surgery in the US. The money will be withdrawn by me via this page and will be sending to Tanya right away via direct email transfer. Below is her story:
I have known Tanya professionally and personally for over 10 years - strong-willed, determined, passionate, loves to travel and always on the go. At work, she has always been considered as a fearless leader, an embodiment of an empowered woman. This is why when I learned about her debilitating condition last year, it saddened me that this woman who has so much to offer for her family, friends, community, and most importantly for herself, would be severely limited physically, emotionally and mentally due to a pelvic pain entrapment syndrome which resulted from a sports injury. Imagine a life in which you are not able to sit down without severe pain even for five minutes. Simple things like going out to the movies or a restaurant or even sitting down with your family for dinner become impossible, to say nothing about trying to continue with a job.
Unfortunately for Tanya, she became part of that growing list of health care recipients who could not find help in Canada. She went to see 60+ medical professionals, has gone through several dozen tests, but nobody could diagnose her, or relieve her pain, or refer to the specialist who knows this condition. Finally, after 1.5 years of constant pain, in July she went to the US to seek another opinion. She herself found a neurosurgeon in the US who was able to detect the nerves that were causing the pain. A surgery is needed to release the nerves and it should assist Tanya in getting back to her life.
However, while Tanya finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel, the cost of this surgery is USD 97,000. She applied to the Ontario Ministry of Health asking for funding of out-of-country medical expenses on the grounds that such procedures were not available in Canada. Little did she know that this was only the beginning of a new stressful journey.
First, the Ministry asked Tanya to “prove” that there was nobody in Canada who could perform the same surgery. Tanya provided references from a few doctors here stating this fact. Then the Ministry suddenly “found” the right specialist who was apparently the only one in Canada (how come none of the medical doctors that Tanya had seen previously even knew of his existence?) This specialist typically asks half a year for a diagnosis and then he has patients waiting 1-2 years for a surgery (and it is still unclear whether he can provide exactly the type of surgery that Tanya requires). Tanya sought assistance from her local MPP, but the OHIP’s procedure still prescribed rejection of Tanya’s funding application on the grounds of “availability” of medical help in Canada, unless the Canadian specialist advocates for her treatment in the US. However, much to Tanya’s shock, instead of advocating for funding of Tanya’s surgery in the US, the Canadian specialist has chosen to use Tanya’s case to advocate for getting more funding from the Ministry of Health for himself and his department.
Unable to spend another several years waiting in severe pain with unknown result in Canada and seeing her condition get progressively worse over time, Tanya’s only choice is to go for the surgery in the US, even though OHIP has refused to provide the funding.
Tanya is a great friend and she mentored and coached me and paved the way for several opportunities in my professional life. More importantly, she saw me not as a new immigrant in Canada back in 2006, but somebody who can positively contribute to society. Now I need to help her get the surgery as soon as possible to get her life back and to return to being a positive force in the world. We are knocking on your kind hearts to help her with her financial needs. We believe in every human being's compassion for others. This is about giving a person that second chance to get up without having to experience pain and suffering anymore. We can prove that Canada is not its inept Health Care system but a community of caring people.
Whether you know Tanya and love and respect her like many of us, or you are a kind-hearted stranger, I hope you can be part of Tanya's journey and help her be pain-free soon, not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. Since she has been failed by Canada, this surgery in the US is her only chance. Her US surgeon, who thinks that Tanya has good chances, has scheduled her for 2 surgeries, the first one is on March 5th, 2019.
Thank you so much.
Thesa Dayagbil
Organizer
Aseht AD
Organizer
Pickering, ON
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