ABANDONED: B.C. woman with rare medical condition cast aside by health authorities considers euthanasia

Imagine living in a province where the health care system has failed you so much that you are considering opting to be euthanized, aka receiving medical assistance in dying (MAID). That’s what Rosie Ashcraft, an autistic Victoria, B.C. mother of two who suffers from a rare and painful illness called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), recently made headlines for.

Ashcraft has experienced struggle after struggle since falling ill, including finding a medical professional who could properly diagnose her, and finding a doctor to understand how to properly care for her after being diagnosed.

“I was left to spiral out of control,” said Ashcraft when I sat down to interview her. After originally not being treated as a patient with EDS, Ashcraft says her joints deteriorated to a severe level, especially in the neck joint called the Atlanto-occipital.

“I couldn’t get any imaging at all in Canada for that, I had to get the money together, including fundraising to get to the States to even have it diagnosed,” added Ashcraft. The pain in Ashcraft's neck often becomes so unbearable that she has been trying to get a surgery used to treat EDS in other countries which treat people with EDS; however Canada does not recognize the surgery. Despite having two children and a husband she loves dearly, she has considered opting for MAID if she can’t find a way to get the surgery.

Ashcraft’s story is somberly similar to Eric Coulam’s. A 20-year-old man from Fort St. John, British Columbia who has decided to end his life via MAID after years of doctors being unable to properly diagnose a painful gastrointestinal condition that he suffers from.

A gofundme page has been set up titled “Life not MAID” which is aiming to raise $50,000 for Ashcraft to be able to afford the costs to travel to the US to get the surgery to relieve the pain in her neck and to be assisted in recovery from it so that she can hang on to life for longer.

Visit www.fightvaccinepassports.com to stand up for medical freedom and to make a stand against the B.C. health establishment.