Help Deepan recover from his burns,
Donation protected
Warning: Story contains graphic images of severe burns.
On December 11th I had planned to grab lunch with Deepan and our other friend Stacy. It was supposed to be a regular Sunday for me, when I received a panicked call from Deepan saying he had been severely burnt on his face, right hand, inner thighs and calves while doing car repairs for a friend. The extra panic in Deepan’s voice was that he knew that he didn’t have the money to go see a doctor and that the hospital would not see him unless it was a life threatening circumstance. In his own self-sufficient and stubborn style, he insisted on avoiding the hospitals as long as he could, but after talking to nurses and doctors that I knew, it was a matter of time before the large swaths of second degree burns he had became life threatening. Eventually he called an ambulance and was rushed into emergency care with advanced dehydration, severe pain, and a steadily worsening health. A few hours later he would come to realize that he was on a long, painful and costly path to recovery. His right hand had received the worst burns, 2nd degree, almost 3rd degree burns.
These are some photos he sent me that day:
Here is an additional picture of his hand when treatment first started:
Let’s rewind a bit, one must be wondering why he was so hesitant to go to the hospital, since Deepan lives in Canada after all, where we take access to healthcare for granted. One important thing you need to know about Deepan is that he is stateless. This means that even if he was born in Canada, he currently has no Canadian citizenship, therefore he has no health card, and on top of that he has no citizenship for any other country. Because of crimes he committed as a young adult, and because of circumstantial confusion around the employment of his parents at the time of his birth, the Government of Canada decided in 2010 that Deepan had never been a Canadian Citizen despite previously awarding him two separate Canadian passports.
Suffice it to say that he is not covered by any private insurance or public healthcare. On top of that he has been without a work permit for almost five months, has no source of income and he can’t access any sources of government income since he has no official status.
To find out more about how this came to be and his multi-year fight to regain his citizenship, visit www.justicefordeepan.com
Let’s break down an estimate of the costs so far in addition to a few key costs during his recovery, and this is where we need your help:
1) Ambulance and multiple visits to the hospital burn unit, WeCare and the plastic surgeon: $2500
2) Medication and accessories thus far: Daily changing dressing, antiobiotic ointments, creams, antiobiotics: $900 --- estimated costs over the next few months: $400
3) Visits to the physiotherapist: $600 (and he stopped going after two)
4) Doctor ordered gloves to prevent infection, scarring and to return skin pigmentation for his hand, for 18 months: $1300
5) Other visits to the doctor to check on health complications involving swelling of his feet and kidney problems, and steroid cream for his feet: $50 (so far it is mostly through the Community Health Centre)
6) SPF 90+ sun screen for the next 18 months to protect burnt skin on the face from exposure to sun: $250
Total: $6000
This is a picture of the glove:
This does not include costs of gasoline for getting around, food (that he tries to get via donations and food banks as much as possible), rent, cell phone bills that he is falling behind on, on top of outstanding debt from the past few years. He has a support committee that is helping him provide for most of his rent and some of his bills monthly while he is unable to work, but the costs are proving to be much too high for his circle of supporters to take on by themselves.
While he is physically on the mend, he desperately needs money to help him survive, pay some of these outstanding medical bills, heal properly, and avoid more complications like he has started experiencing from his overall wellbeing, such as swelling and infections.
I thank you in advance for your support, as does Deepan.
Sincerely,
Daniel
On December 11th I had planned to grab lunch with Deepan and our other friend Stacy. It was supposed to be a regular Sunday for me, when I received a panicked call from Deepan saying he had been severely burnt on his face, right hand, inner thighs and calves while doing car repairs for a friend. The extra panic in Deepan’s voice was that he knew that he didn’t have the money to go see a doctor and that the hospital would not see him unless it was a life threatening circumstance. In his own self-sufficient and stubborn style, he insisted on avoiding the hospitals as long as he could, but after talking to nurses and doctors that I knew, it was a matter of time before the large swaths of second degree burns he had became life threatening. Eventually he called an ambulance and was rushed into emergency care with advanced dehydration, severe pain, and a steadily worsening health. A few hours later he would come to realize that he was on a long, painful and costly path to recovery. His right hand had received the worst burns, 2nd degree, almost 3rd degree burns.
These are some photos he sent me that day:
Here is an additional picture of his hand when treatment first started:
Let’s rewind a bit, one must be wondering why he was so hesitant to go to the hospital, since Deepan lives in Canada after all, where we take access to healthcare for granted. One important thing you need to know about Deepan is that he is stateless. This means that even if he was born in Canada, he currently has no Canadian citizenship, therefore he has no health card, and on top of that he has no citizenship for any other country. Because of crimes he committed as a young adult, and because of circumstantial confusion around the employment of his parents at the time of his birth, the Government of Canada decided in 2010 that Deepan had never been a Canadian Citizen despite previously awarding him two separate Canadian passports.
Suffice it to say that he is not covered by any private insurance or public healthcare. On top of that he has been without a work permit for almost five months, has no source of income and he can’t access any sources of government income since he has no official status.
To find out more about how this came to be and his multi-year fight to regain his citizenship, visit www.justicefordeepan.com
Let’s break down an estimate of the costs so far in addition to a few key costs during his recovery, and this is where we need your help:
1) Ambulance and multiple visits to the hospital burn unit, WeCare and the plastic surgeon: $2500
2) Medication and accessories thus far: Daily changing dressing, antiobiotic ointments, creams, antiobiotics: $900 --- estimated costs over the next few months: $400
3) Visits to the physiotherapist: $600 (and he stopped going after two)
4) Doctor ordered gloves to prevent infection, scarring and to return skin pigmentation for his hand, for 18 months: $1300
5) Other visits to the doctor to check on health complications involving swelling of his feet and kidney problems, and steroid cream for his feet: $50 (so far it is mostly through the Community Health Centre)
6) SPF 90+ sun screen for the next 18 months to protect burnt skin on the face from exposure to sun: $250
Total: $6000
This is a picture of the glove:
This does not include costs of gasoline for getting around, food (that he tries to get via donations and food banks as much as possible), rent, cell phone bills that he is falling behind on, on top of outstanding debt from the past few years. He has a support committee that is helping him provide for most of his rent and some of his bills monthly while he is unable to work, but the costs are proving to be much too high for his circle of supporters to take on by themselves.
While he is physically on the mend, he desperately needs money to help him survive, pay some of these outstanding medical bills, heal properly, and avoid more complications like he has started experiencing from his overall wellbeing, such as swelling and infections.
I thank you in advance for your support, as does Deepan.
Sincerely,
Daniel
Organizer
Daniel Cayley-Daoust
Organizer
Gatineau, QC
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