Mr. Chair, I want to refer to some testimony that we heard in committee. The question was asked to Dr. Sandy MacDonald, who had treated six patients:
Have there been any complications? And what have you learned from the treatment that you have engaged in so far?
The response was:
There have been no complications to treatment. I will give you a really nice example. A 23-year-old kid can't feel his left arm or left leg. He gets an angioplasty done and he gets feeling back in his leg and his arm. He is living in a house with an elevator because he can't go up and down the stairs. A week later he tells his mom and dad he's moving out of the house and into the apartment with his girlfriend because he doesn't have MS any more. The procedure works. We have to allow patients to have the procedure.
That is what he indicated.
Based on what we have talked about with Steve Garvie, Mrs. Cooney, does the member agree that we need immediate funding, more funding for this research, and that it should be done in conjunction with treatment?
Could the hon. member elaborate a bit on what this would mean for the health care system, given the fact that people are now able to live a more productive life after the procedure, and how much is being saved in the medical field by the fact that they may be coming out of long-term care or assisted living?