Woman living in chronic pain says N.S. health care plagued by sexism, ageism and ‘dangerous’ apathy – CBC

Laura O’Byrne has been seeking help for painful fibroids, ovarian cyst for more than a year

Dec 06, 2024

Laura O’Byrne chokes back tears as she recalls walking the woodsy trails of Nova Scotia’s South Shore with her two mastiffs just over a year ago, having finally realized her dream of retiring by the ocean.

But now, the 58-year-old spends most days lying down with excruciating pelvic pain in her home in Shelburne County, unable to bend over to tie her shoes and wearing a diaper due to urinary incontinence, often crying about the uncertainty of her health.

O’Byrne said it doesn’t have to be this way, but Nova Scotia’s health-care system has failed her at every turn.

“It’s been a nightmare,” she said. “This is straight-up negligence.”

O’Byrne has countless fibroids — growths around her uterus, which itself is three times larger than normal — and a large ovarian cyst.

But she’s met a number of roadblocks in treating her issues, including being dismissed by a Nova Scotia gynecologist and denied an out-of-province claim to MSI for an urgent hysterectomy to remove her uterus in her home province of Manitoba.

Woman living in chronic pain says N.S. health care plagued by sexism, ageism and ‘dangerous’ apathy – CBC

NationTalk Partners & Sponsors Learn More