Undocumented mother, fractured bone no healthcare

Dearest Community,

We are writing on behalf of *Sumaira, an undocumented person who has been living on Turtle Island (aka Montreal) for many years with her son.

In December, 2022, she slipped on ice, resulting in a fracture to her wrist. Because she has no status here, no access to health care insurance, and is very low income, she was not able to seek medical attention. The situation has not only gotten worse, but will continue to do so until she is able to see an orthopedic doctor and get proper medical

care.

She purchased a wrist guard from the pharmacy and hoped it would heal on its own. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Instead, her arm is perpetually swollen and causes her chronic pain and discomfort. She sought out physiotherapy and acupuncture, which relieved the pain temporarily, but they are beyond her means to continue.

The injury is not healing. It is deteriorating.

Due to lack of funds, she waited until March 24th to finally see a doctor. The visit led to a radiological exam, which confirmed that her injury is indeed a serious fracture. Of particular concern is that the fracture extends into the wrist joint, which means she will develop some arthritis in that joint over the next 5-15 years. The doctor gave a referral for her to see an orthopedic surgeon, and it seems that she will most likely need surgery.

She cannot stop working, because she needs the income. Her work is physical, and is undoubtedly exacerbating her injury. She is in so much pain, all the time!

She contacted Medecins Sans Frontieres, and has been waiting for a response. As of yet, only nurses have responded, and I think it is fair to say that her current situation is an emergency. Some organizations and some individuals have contributed, but surgery is expensive! Her situation is very precarious. She has no ID, she can’t leave the country, and she can only work jobs that are unprotected, without insurance, and that accept her precarious situation (and pay under the table).

This woman is suffering, and we imagine her wrist is healing incorrectly as it is chronically swollen. She needs medical attention, as soon as possible. She needs about $3,000 to be able to afford the next step in treatment.

You can help by contributing to this fundraiser for her. Every contribution will enable her to access the next step in her healthcare needs.

You can definitely contact us if you have any questions ([email redacted]). Also, If you otherwise know of a way she can attain the medical treatment she needs, please let us know! Do you know of any orthopedic surgeons who have volunteer hours to donate? Or any other suggestions? And yes, please feel free to circulate this anywhere. We are really hoping to get her the help she needs, because she has been greatly suffering for months now.

Thank you so much for your generosity and solidarity!

QPIRG-Concordia Staff

Update:

May 8, 2023 - Thanks to your generous donations, Sumaira has seen an orthopedic doctor. Sadly, the doctor says her wrist bones have healed incorrectly and has asked her to rest her wrist for one full month while doing physiotherapy, in the hope that this will improve the fracture.

If that does not happen, Sumaira will have to have surgery costing $8000 and will be unable to work while she heals. The funds are now going towards her day to day expenses, since she cannot work, and towards physiotherapy. Because she is unable to work at all now and also needs funds for physiotherapy and doctor visits, we have raised how much is being asked for from $3000 to $5000. Thank you so much. You can't imagine what a huge difference this makes!

October 2, 2023

Sumaira is suffering considerably with chronic pain in her wrist and mounting debt as she struggles to work and has lost several clients.

She needs at least $8000 for the surgery, plus $2500 in expenses for four months following the surgery so her wrist can heal.

The goal has been raised to reflect what she would need to get the surgery and survive in the interim/post-surgery.