SYDNEY, N.S. - “Anybody got a deck of cards for a game of Tarabish on the way down?” one of the protestors asked before the crowd burst into a fit of laughter.
And with that, the wheels of the coach buses began turning Friday, as more than 100 Cape Bretoners were preparing to march across the Canso Causeway in protest of the province’s beleaguered health system.
Three buses and another 20 or so individual vehicles formed a motorcade travelling over Kellys Mountain, with blurred images of scenic lookoffs in the background.
In the seats were seniors knitting, boys playing video games and a man trying to catch up on some sleep.
Together this group had travelled 1.5 hours Nov. 16 from a gathering point in North Sydney with no stops as they made their way toward their destination in Port Hastings.
Each had their own stories. Each had a reason to be there. And together they wanted their voices heard by a government they say is planning rural health care in secrecy.
Name: James Hayden
Age: 55
Hometown: North Sydney, N.S.
Occupation: Wanted to become a carpenter before injury.
James Hayden was at home lifting the engine out of a car when he heard a snap.
“I went down on my knees,” said the 55-year-old.
After a visit to the doctor’s office and waiting months for spinal surgery, Hayden received what he called a botched operation back in 1995 at a Sydney hospital.
He now lives with constant pain and wishes that he had the surgery in Halifax.
“A screw broke off and is tucked in between two discs,” said the North Sydney resident.
“Both sides of my legs are dead; there is no feeling to them. The insides are right sensitive, and I have no doctor to see what’s going on.”
Hayden would go to see a spinal specialist but cannot get a referral without a family doctor.
Hayden criticized the provincial government Friday for the lack of healthcare resources provided to rural residents.
Name: Florence Gwinn
Age: 83
Hometown: North Sydney, N.S.
Occupation: Homemaker
Florence Gwinn fears what will happened when an emergency strikes.
The 83-year-old diabetic makes regular trips to Sydney for tests and other procedures, but it is the unplanned events that make her feel uneasy.
If North Sydney’s emergency room is closed, Gwinn and other North Sydney residents must travel approximately 25 minutes for hospital care.
“We’ve always had a hospital that if there was an emergency you would go down and you would be looked after,” she said. “You can manage something that’s planned but not something that’s not planned.”
In April, Gwinn’s family doctor of over 40 years retired. The replacement physician left shortly after due to illness.
As one of the oldest participants in Friday’s rally, Gwinn considered herself very fortunate.
“I’m lucky enough that I do have a family doctor now,” said Gwinn. “There’s so many without any.”
Name: Gail Tomlinson
Age: 70
Hometown: Florence, N.S.
Occupation: Retired from an electronics company in Ajax, Ont.
Gail Tomlinson is not unlike many seniors living in Nova Scotia.
She moved to Cape Breton in 1990, for a simpler life after retiring from an electronics company in Ajax, Ont.
She wouldn’t trade her newfound home for anything, but finds it maddening to see rural health care placed on the back burner.
“I moved down from Ontario and I’ve never regretted it,” said the senior.
“The people here are just so friendly. This is a beautiful island and it definitely doesn’t deserve to be treated the way it’s being treated.”
Tomlinson considers herself very fortunate. She has a family doctor and has no major health issues.
She recalled Friday a visit to the Northside General with her sister-in-law who had no family doctor at the time.
Together, the pair waited approximately 10 hours for care.
“This is outrageous, and we have one of the longest waits in the country. It should never have been allowed to get to the point that it is now, and yet they just ignore us,” she said. “So hopefully they’re not going to ignore this.”
Name: Tina Lemoine
Age: 62
Hometown: North Sydney
Occupation: Retired licensed practical nurse
Tina Lemoine retired last month from Northside General after working as a licensed practical nurse for 36 years.
Acknowledging that now she can speak her mind without repercussion, Lemoine said she has two major pet peeves.
The first is government’s plan to close the North Sydney hospital based on the current condition of its infrastructure.
“There is nothing wrong with that building,” Lemoine said. “It’s sound. It’s in good shape. It’s clean. It’s much better than the regional, actually.
“That plus the other thing that drives me nuts is they keep saying they’re working hard to give the health care we deserve, so they’re telling me that we deserve sub-standard health care.”
As she spoke, Lemoine’s voice shook and her eyes began to water.
Lemoine said North Sydney needs an open emergency room and each patient requires a doctor.
“How many people are dying on Highway 125 that we don’t hear about?” she said.
“I have seen over the years people dying on the way to Northside General; add 20 minutes to that.”
Name: Frank McCready
Age: 69
Hometown: Sydney Mines
Occupation: Retired coal miner
Frank McCready showed up with two prosthetics on his legs and two canes in hand.
The miner worked as an overman in coals pits throughout Cape Breton before retiring in 2000.
The 69-year-old has experienced a wide-range of health issues, many related to working in the mines.
“I finally do have a doctor, but I went through three different replacement ones,” he said.
“And I’m in bad shape. I’ve got emphysema, I’ve got black lung and I’ve got silicosis — all that stuff. And I’ve got a wooden leg and a brace on the other.”
McCready was assigned a doctor after a recent heart valve replacement.
“I feel sorry for a lot of people,” he said. “Not only myself, all those others too who still don’t have a doctor. They have a lot of issues where they never see doctors.”
In a province with a rapidly aging population, McCready said more money must be spent on health care outside of Halifax.
Name: Theresa McCready
Age: 66
Hometown: Sydney Mines
Occupation: Retired registered nurse
Theresa McCready retired from working as a registered nurse in 2015.
In the last decade or more of her career, the 66-year-old said she witnessed ever-increasing wait times for specialists and other physicians.
She spent the last 26 years working in long-term care at nursing homes.
She said often patients were forced to wait due to a lack of family doctors.
“On the whole once they got to see a doctor it was excellent care,” she said. “It was just the wait time which probably made their condition worse.”
McCready herself was without a family doctor for two years, relying instead on a walk-in clinic that she says no longer exists.
Name: James Lyle
Age: 64
Hometown: Sydney Mines
Occupation: Retired carpenter
Sixty-three years ago, James Lyle’s sister marched as a teenaged pipe major across the Canso Causeway in celebration of its opening.
But on Friday, the retired carpenter from Sydney Mines trudged across the roadway for an entirely different reason.
Lyle injured his back in 1986 after suffering a bad fall. He experienced painful flareups without reason until 1990 when he was diagnosed with a disc injury.
“(Health care) has been downgraded over the years,” he said. “I have questions to ask. I want to ask why are we being treated so differently in Cape Breton than in Halifax.”
A few days ago, Lyle was told his family doctor will retire next September.
“I’m not too happy about that,” he said. “I went through this bit of going to outpatients for prescriptions and sitting there for four or five hours.”
Lyle knows that emergency health care is not the place for patients like him, but said the options are few and far between.
No matter which government is in power, Lyle said they all are receiving bad advice in providing services to rural residents.
Name: Marilyn MacKenzie
Age: 69
Hometown: Millville
Occupation: Retired optometric assistant
Marilyn MacKenzie travelled by herself on a bus headed toward the Canso Causeway.
The retired optometric assistant said she felt compiled to take action after watching what she calls the dismantling of health care and education systems by the current provincial government.
MacKenize said community hospitals shouldn’t be closing when the island’s Cape Breton Regional Hospital cannot even handle its current influx of patients.
“I have a friend that had her grandson over (at the regional hospital) this week past. He’s one-year old – a baby — they waited 10 hours to be seen,” said MacKenzie. “It was a respiratory infection; that is ridiculous and that’s with all the other hospitals running.”
MacKenzie doesn’t believe Nova Scotia’s leaders will be implementing a better plan for health care with the closing of hospitals in North Sydney and New Waterford.
She marched across the causeway Friday for the individuals who wished to attend the rally, but their health diagnosis might have prevented it.
“I’m here on behalf of people who can’t come themselves,” she said.
RELATED
- VIDEO: Cape Bretoners brave blustery weather in health care protest at Canso Causeway
- UPDATED: Cape Bretoners hold health care protest at Canso Causeway
- Cape Bretoners travelling to health minister’s office by the busload
- North Sydney health rally attracts hundreds
- Prepared to protest for Cape Breton health care
