Marshall Garratt and his daughter Amber Garratt sit together by the fireplace in their Bradford home discussing the Ford government’s plans to overhaul the province’s health-care system.
“There’s no fixing the system that we currently use,” remarked Marshall.
It’s been just three days since he lost his wife Barbara to lung cancer. Diagnosed in July, it was a brief and painful battle for the mother of two.
“She was so courageous through her fight and there were so many ups and owns but she always had a smile on her face … She was the world’s best,” recalled Amber through tears.
Beyond the physical fight for Barbara, and emotional struggle for the family, her daughter and husband said they encountered a troubling reality earlier this month.
“It’s been a stressful journey from July forward and to have to deal with the system. You almost feel helpless,” said Marshall.
Several weeks before her death, Barbara was rushed to Southlake Regional Health Centre with an infection. Despite being gravely ill with stage four cancer, she waited in emergency for days until a bed became available.
“Wednesday morning didn’t have a bed, Wednesday afternoon nothing, Wednesday evening nothing, all day Thursday same thing,” recalled Amber.
The situation became so frustrating for the family that Marshall said he decided to reach out to the Premier Doug Ford. He went online and found an email form to fill out to “contact the Premier.”
“I am the husband of Barbara Garratt, an active cancer patient that had gone through lung cancer treatment … only to have it spread to her femur bone. A rod was installed … and infection was diagnosed,” Marshall wrote in his letter.
“I am currently still sitting in emergency department at Southlake waiting two days to have infection drained and watch my wife of 33 years suffer in pain and pumped with morphine … in the emergency department that is a constant zoo!”
Marshall ended his message with, “Perhaps you could relate to my situation having been through similar circumstances when your brother Rob was suffering from cancer.”
Sadly, despite treatment for her infection, Barbara died on Saturday evening at home.
“It’s so tough being the daughter of someone who has been through so much — just wanting to help her and get her better and get her the support she needs,” cried Amber.
However, the family said they are not convinced that planned health care changes in the province would have made a difference for their loved one.
“I think through all of what my mom has gone through we’ve realized that bureaucracy is what’s slowing things down, making things harder,” said Amber.
“Rejigging it with some more bureaucracies is not the answer … you would have to blow the system up and start from scratch,” noted Marshall, adding he not fault the front-line workers.
“There is only so much they can do.”
Back at their home, the father and daughter are surrounded by bouquets of flowers sent along with letters of condolence as they sit side by side.
“The world won’t be the same without her,” said Amber.
Global News reached out to the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), which represents more than 150 public hospitals in Ontario and regards itself as “the voice of Ontario’s public hospitals.” In a statement, the OHA noted, “hospital overcrowding is widely recognized as one of the biggest challenges facing Ontario’s health system.
“Health care providers are overstretched, and the high-quality care Ontarians have come to expect is at risk.”
With the announcement by the provincial government, the OHA said, “The government is looking to advance long-term, transformational change – the kind of change that will help the health care system swiftly and flexibly meet the changing needs of patients across the province.”