Medical Assistance in Dying committee  The supports that I want include counselling for my family: bereavement counselling afterwards, if I do choose MAID, family counselling beforehand and individual counselling beforehand. I think that palliative care encompasses a lot of things, like spiritual support. It's hard.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  The first time I requested MAID, I had the two assessments, and they tell you at the end of your assessment. When I had the first two in 2019, they told me at the end of that assessment that because I did not have a reasonably foreseeable natural death, they had to tell me no. Bu

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Yes, I keep that for when I can't do this anymore.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  The reason I first requested MAID—both times actually—was for adhesive arachnoiditis. It was for the pain that I have in my spine. It was for physical suffering.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  When you first request MAID, you do a record of request for MAID, and that's what I did in Alberta. It's sent to the care coordination service. They coordinate the two assessments [Technical difficulty—Editor] with you. The assessments that I had were hours and hours long. They s

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I believe that having access to palliative care would help my suffering. I'm not sure. I don't think it would make enough of a difference to me to make me not request MAID, but I think it would give me the ability to cope with my pain for longer. It would raise my quality of life

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I'm receiving no supports whatsoever. I never have in Alberta. I had to go to Vancouver for treatment, but Alberta health services paid for the treatment—not for the travel, but for the treatment. The parts of palliative care that I was looking for included counselling for my fa

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I was denied palliative care because I did not have a terminal diagnosis. That was the reason I was given.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  I am approved for MAID. I requested palliative care before I requested MAID, and I was denied because I didn't have a terminal diagnosis. After I requested MAID and was approved for MAID, I again asked for palliative care and was denied, again because I did not have a terminal di

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Hello. To the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, thank you for making the time to hear me today. My name is Cheryl Romaire and I am a 45-year-old mother of two, known for my big smile and my hearty laughter, despite the suffering I endure. The decline in my

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  Thank you. The decline in my physical ability when I became sick just over four years ago was rapid, brutal and, unfortunately, largely irreversible. Within a few months I went from having health and independence to being unable to walk up and down the stairs in my own home with