Our Fight, Our Hopes, Our Dream

Being that Hudson cannot express himself. We never know what he feels, he cannot speak to tell us. 

Since we are at a total loss of what to do it was up to me to try and fight for him. 

When your child cannot express themselves you need to be their advocate. Which is what we're trying to do.

This letter we have wrote to the MLA will most likely not go anywhere. But there is always hope that maybe it will and that Hudson will get the services he requires and that children like him will get the services they need. My hope is that parents just like us who have children with disabilities will get the services they need without the worry and gut ache feeling when your child isn't getting the help they need and deserve. 

I have posted a picture of our letter for you to read that I will be mailing to our MLA 

Dear Dustin Duncan, 

In May of this year, my son who has severe speech delays, started into speech therapy in Weyburn. The program is set up so that he does therapy for 10 weeks & then there is a break for 10 weeks to accommodate other clients. Recently my son has been prescribed by his paediatrician, to receive increased sessions (more then once a week with no breaks). However, when I spoke to my SLP, due to severe understaffing this would not be possible. The severe understaffing in this department has created a back log in our system for my child and others like him. This is a huge concern, not only as a parent, but also as a dedicated healthcare employee. If we cannot meet our current population's need's and are not making changes and improvements to meet those demands, what chance do our patients and children have at managing and improving their current state?

My son is at a very critical age where this needs to be addressed immediately and despite efforts to increase his appointments with Sun Country Health Region we are at a complete and total loss because the region is not meeting the populations needs and demands of the patients.

It was also mentioned to me that my son is showing some signs of possibly having a condition called Apraxia. It is however, too early for him to be diagnosed. Children with Apraxia are required to have intensive speech therapy treatments done 3-5 times weekly. Children with Apraxia in Saskatchewan are still only seen once a week. That is a disgrace to the healthcare system.

I have been told the only way I could receive the required increase in his speech therapy, is to go private, which is beyond my financial means. In Sun Country's defence, I have been offered therapy every other week on a continuous basis, without having to take the 10 week breaks like we are having to do now. This is a better option than it was, but he is still not receiving the constant "weekly" therapy that he is required by his paediatrician 

I ask that you as the Minister of Health address this shortage not only in Sun Country Health Region, but across the province in each of the health regions. Hire on extra staff as well as support staff to ensure the capacity is being met in the Speech Pathology sectors. In speaking with our speech pathologist, staff have asked for additional help and are not being heard. Children are the future of this province and if the supports are not in place to ensure proper development and learning, our province cannot flourish to its full potential. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED FOR ALL CHILDREN AND PARENTS TODAY!!!!!!

I will await your response.

Sincerely,

Megan Trethewey