They wont do anything about the cost of food, the cost of a home, workers rights, social injustice, or anything that matters.
But my fuck are they happy to put you down when its said and done.
A Cape Breton woman who has been fighting for more than a decade for benefits from Nova Scotia's Workers' Compensation Board says she will continue to push ahead as long as she can.
But Melissa Ellsworth said she can't wait any longer for pain relief and has applied for medical assistance in dying, also known as MAID.
Ellsworth was first injured when a psychiatric patient in a Halifax hospital threw a chair and hit her in the head. The second injury came when an inmate assaulted her, dislocating her shoulder and eventually leaving her with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Despite diagnoses of trigeminal neuralgia — also known as the suicide disease because of the severe facial pain it causes — and PTSD, Ellsworth said WCB case managers have denied her claims for treatment.
Ellsworth has continued to fight for other benefits. For example, her jaw has not worked properly for years, so the WCB approved liquid meal replacements. But Ellsworth said after 10 years, her body can't tolerate the supplements anymore.
She said she has asked for a chewable meal replacement that would help her retain some use of her jaw — rather than submit to a permanent feeding tube that would mean never being able to eat properly again — but the board won't approve the alternative.
She's now getting palliative treatment with pain pills and medical cannabis, but Ellsworth said the strength of the cannabis prescription is too low and the board won't change it.
She said she is speaking out not only to improve her case, but because she wants the WCB completely overhauled.
According to its most recent annual report, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal overturned 56 per cent of all cases last year where someone questioned a WCB case manager's decision to deny benefits.
Ellsworth said she is not giving up the fight, but she no longer has any quality of life.
She has anxiety and depression on top of her other diagnoses, which have led to her decision to apply for medical assistance in dying.
Ellsworth said she's slowly starving to death anyway.
"I love food, but can you imagine being hungry, but not being able to ... I can't even eat hamburgers," she said. "I can't open my mouth far enough. And now I'm living across the street from my parents who get to watch this with their own eyes, day in and day out.
"So in my case it's more of I plan to leave this world with what little dignity that workers' compensation leaves me with, and right now, it's not a lot."
Hill said the workers' compensation system is designed to deny or delay benefits, and like Ellsworth, she has also struggled to receive such things as massage therapy and an occupational therapy assessment of her home, despite orders for those from a doctor.
"This is your life now and you've missed all of that and now on top of that, you have to deal with this monstrous bureaucratic entity that seems to want to squash you at every turn," Hill said.
May these people rot in hell. Ill never forget or forgive them or Arca for poisoning me. Even if it turns out I have cancer or something, I wouldnt call 7 months of irregular heartbeat just a "little bit" of irregular heartbeat. Tell me 180/110 or 120 I cant remember resting blood pressure is normal. Yeah maybe if I was upset or having some kind of mental episode, or running on a treadmill. The cardiologist described me as "depressed" and my heart rate was a steady 60bpm.
God damn these people, cant even admit they fucked up they got to cover it up by swapping blood pressure readings and other bullshit. Telling me refrigerant cant cause irregular heartbeat.
God DAMN I really hope jesus is real you guys have no fucking clue.
This was my last conversation with WCB over a year ago. In the transcript they say that I got upset and they decided to end the call. What a bunch of two faced rotten liars. Anything to paint me as crazy. I take that really offensively being an appalachian.
I also, once getting my phosphorous up a bit and coming to my senses decided ill stay with my family while I can. Who knows how much time I have left, I dont feel like its much when I wake up, neck aching like I was in a boxing match in my sleep.
I would need medical insurance, the doctors would proably just fuck me over too. Ive lost complete trust any medical professional at this stage. The entire system is broke when people can be tossed away like a piece of trash and I am FAR from the only one.
Fuck these people so hard. Criminal SCUM.
Also hold your "you sound fat and geh" comments, and yes holy fuck I sounded terrible. My phosphorous was .37 mmol/l. I think I can be excused for the diaphragm issues. Should have seen me in the middle night, I thought I had COPD somehow. Weezy fucker.
That sounds really tough, sorry you're going through that op
You can try praying to Him and see what happens. I tried all kinds of spiritual paths before I had my own awakening. He was the first one to ever respond.
I honestly thought the suicide booths would have first been a thing in New York, not here in Canada. I’m waiting for them to just put them out like phone booths used to be to expedite the process of being rid of us. Just how much more fucked can we get from a “government”? If you lie about dead children’s bodies from over a hundred years ago you need money from the federal government but if you get hurt at work the very program supposed to be there to help you just dismisses the claim and you’re fucked?
Irrelevant comment. People can be seriously injured in the home