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Posts Tagged ‘Heart Surgery’

I’m sure that I am not the only one, who upon hearing that Danny Williams exact location in the US was unknown, thought to themselves ‘Uh oh! Sex scandal!’ It turns out though, that the firebrand Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador has traveled to the States on the advice of his doctors to undergo a form of heart surgery that cannot be delivered on the Rock. Even though his departure from the island does not appear to be tryst related, controversy has nonetheless ensued. Predictably, in the US much hay has been made about the inadequacies of the Canadian healthcare system, but the same thing is being said about the fact that he had to travel out of province at all. It’s worth remembering that Williams comes from an island province with a total population of just over 500,000. I’ll be callous here and suggest that is a good thing that not every surgical procedure possible can be performed in St. John’s. At this time, the exact nature of the procedure the premier will undergo is not known publicly, but it is some kind of heart surgery. Heart surgery. The fact that every type of heart surgery possible cannot performed in Newfoundland should surprise no one.

A facet to this story that is rather interesting, and one that I have not found any specific details on, is what decision making process was made by Mr. Williams and his doctors to undergo treatment in the US. Did he choose to travel to the US rather than visiting another province for reasons of expediency, or is this particular surgery not available in Canada period? Has Medicare played any role in sending him south, or is it only possible due to his own financial wherewithal? With the brouhaha this surgery has generated, I imagine in the next few days we will be hearing more details about the state of, and manipulations to, Danny William’s heart. There are important issues at play here having to with our healthcare system, but the basic fact of having to leave Newfoundland for heart surgery is not one of them.

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