After years-long battle, Halifax woman gets out-of-province surgery paid for by N.S.
Jennifer Brady is meeting with a medical team in New Jersey to discuss treatment options
A Halifax woman with lymphedema who fought the Nova Scotia government in court — and won — is now getting out-of-country treatment paid for by the province.
Jennifer Brady, 46, is meeting with a medical team at the Institute for Lymphatic Surgery and Innovation in New Jersey this week for testing that will determine which type of surgery she requires.
"The surgery will give me my life back," said Brady. "It will allow me to go to the grocery store and maybe play with my kids in the same day."
Brady has secondary lymphedema, a condition that causes an accumulation of fluid and can result in painful swelling, increased risk of blood infection, cellulitis and hardening of the skin. In her case, it's a side-effect from having her lymph nodes removed during a radical hysterectomy in 2019 to treat cervical cancer.
There is no cure for lymphedema, but Brady is hopeful that surgery will relieve the chronic pain and swelling in her legs, as well as improve her quality of life.
"I've been waiting since 2021 when I first started petitioning the government for surgery and my disease is absolutely more advanced since that time," she said.
Brady and Crystal Ellingsen, a Halifax woman who has lipedema, filed a judicial review against the provincial Health Department in July 2022 after they were denied out-of-province treatment. Both women were told they needed a referral for treatment from a specialist; however, no such specialist exists in Nova Scotia.
Ellingsen remortgaged her house to pay more than $100,000 to have four surgeries in Germany, while Brady remortgaged her house to pay more than $65,000 for a surgery in Tokyo.
In a written decision last October, Justice Timothy Gabriel of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court said both women were "treated in a procedurally unfair manner," and the decisions made by the province to deny their care were "unreasonable."
The following month, Premier Tim Houston publicly apologized to both women and said the province would cover Brady and Ellingsen's expenses for travel, treatment and "unnecessary legal costs," including interest. Further treatment necessary to manage Brady's condition would also be paid for, said Houston.
According to court documents filed on Jan. 31, the court matter has been resolved.
The Department of Health and Wellness told CBC News in an email that it "cannot discuss the planned medical treatment of any individual." However, Brady shared a letter from the department that confirms her treatment, travel expenses and travel insurance are being covered from Feb. 3 to 5 in New Jersey.
The premier's office did not respond to CBC's repeated requests for comment this week.
Brady said since the judge's decision and the premier's apology, it's been a "very long and slow exhale" as she settles from the battle that consumed her life for the last few years.
"You know, the battle to maintain my health and the state of my legs, to prevent the disease getting worse, but also trying to prevent some of the sort of consequences that the disease causes like blood infections," Brady said.
"That's on my mind constantly. That doesn't go away with the judge's decision. That will hopefully go away with surgery."
Brady said she's no longer focused on following through with an application she made last year to end her life through the medical assistance in dying (MAID) program.
She's hopeful the surgery means she will no longer need to use an inflatable massage machine several hours a day or the highest grade compression socks — freeing up precious time and energy for her passions: running, kayaking, cooking, and family.
"It's a day at the beach with my kids," she said. "To have that on the horizon is enormous."
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