Good morning. Thank you very much for taking the time to hear our stories.
I was born on September 27, 1963, with seven fingers on each hand. The extra ones were surgically removed when I was 18 months old. I have pronounced webbing on both hands and feet, and I have extra-short feet with a 6E-plus width. My right leg is more than an inch shorter than my left leg. I've also had 13 spinal cord tumours, which were dermoid cysts or ganglions. These were referred to by Dr. McCredie on page 11 of a WHO report from the Geneva World Health Organization summit of 2014, when she talked about ganglions being evident in the spine.
I have back spasms three or four times a week—sometimes daily—and they're only controlled by medication that is not covered under our health plan. I've had two surgeries on my right ankle. I have poor circulation in both legs; arthritis and inflammation throughout my body; bowel and bladder problems; sleep apnea; hypoxia; and, ongoing intestinal problems. I have a right knee replacement scheduled for early July. I've been denied by WSIB in terms of repetitive strain in both my wrists; they refer to it as a “previous injury” because I was born with the extra fingers on both hands.
I've seen many doctors, naturopaths, acupuncturists, chiropractors, and reflexologists in my relentless search to find out what is the cause of my pain. As the years go on, it's not getting any better. I have two older siblings who are in perfect health, and there is no evidence in my parents' lineage, on either side, of anybody with extra fingers or any extra digits.
I believe that in the government's extraordinary assistance plan for thalidomide, which was brought out in 1991, all the discussion was on three criteria, but in actual fact, there were four criteria.
One of the criteria was a mother's statement, preferably sworn, that she took thalidomide at the relevant time, with an indication of its source, which was not necessarily a prescription. I am a sample baby. My mother received the thalidomide pill on two occasions, once at the Copper Cliff clinic in Sudbury, and one other time, a week later, at a hospital. Even though the drug was stopped in 1962, the doctors in the rural Sudbury area continued to use it. I have spoken to one doctor who received samples in 1964, when he took his practice to Sudbury.
I've had some of my genetic testing done through CARE for RARE here in Ottawa, out of CHEO. I don't have any results yet, because it was a research study. We will receive those results at the end of this month.
Crawford informed us, in their wording, that this is deemed final. They didn't inform us that we could appeal or anything along those lines. I really don't agree with their statement, which says that there are 167 people, because my file number was 138, and I know people whose file numbers are in the 300s and others whose numbers are in the 400s. I don't know how they do their filing system, but I think there are some inconsistencies there that we have to look at.
Also, when I called Crawford, I received no help from them. They just kept harping away on the three criteria. That was it. That was final. When I called the TVAC, it was the same situation. There was no help at all from them either.
It's interesting to find out how many people at Crawford had affidavits from a parent and were still denied. Crawford had a list of applicants whose medical records were destroyed either by flood or by fire. My records and my mother's records were both destroyed in a flood. When you talk to all the people who were undocumented, it's common how many people's files have disappeared by way of either fire or flood.
Thank you very much.