Vancouver, Canada, Aug 16, 2019 / 15:00 pm
The family of a Canadian man who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is urging the country's government to change the way it treats patients with the disease after he received a "medically-assisted death" following years of struggle to find adequate care.
Sean Tagert, 41, was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gherig's disease, in March of 2013. In October 2017, he suffered cardiac arrest, and was subsequently placed on a ventilator. His illness robbed him of the ability to move his body, eat, or speak, and he communicated via an eye-gaze computer. His mental acuity was unaffected.
At that time, Tagert's doctors recommended 24-hour in-home care, which is typical for a person who uses a ventilator full time. Vancouver Coastal Health, Tagert's regional health authority, only initially offered 15.5 hours of care a day. Eventually, after much effort, they increased their offer to 20 hours a day--which still meant that Tagert had to pay $263.50 each day for the remaining four hours of required care.
Tagert and his family continued to fight for coverage of a full day's care, to no avail.