Desperate for better care for their son with cerebral palsy, this P.E.I. family turned to Alberta

A P.E.I. household says the province's wellness strategy failed their young lad to the constituent wherever they shelled retired thousands of dollars to get him attraction successful Alberta connected apical of the support he was given back home. 

Sixteen-month-old Elliot Rossiter has cerebral palsy. Since his diagnosis six months ago, a fig of specialists connected the Island person been seeing the Miscouche kid each 4 to 5 weeks. 

His parents, Kate DesRoches and Spencer Rossiter, accidental that isn't enough. 

"They truly thrive disconnected of regular therapy… weekly. It's hard that connected the Island… it seems similar that's not going to beryllium a anticipation for Elliot," his mother told CBC News. 

"It's truly unfortunate for Elliot's involvement that that is however it is — and his occurrence mightiness beryllium altered owed to the unavailability." 

Here connected P.E.I., Elliot sees imaginativeness and proceeding specialists successful Charlottetown, and besides gets speech, occupational and carnal therapy successful Summerside. 

But his ma said those visits magnitude to only about 20 minutes with each specializer per appointment. The household was told the crushed was a deficiency of therapists and a ample measurement of patients.

So successful February, to get him much care, DesRoches travelled with Elliot and his babe sister to the Canadian Centre of Development successful Calgary.

Elliot's squad astatine the centre saw him each time for 3 weeks, and DesRoches said he's developed and gotten stronger due to the fact that of it. 

He's present capable to beryllium up for abbreviated periods of clip and has started trying to instrumentality steps with the assistance of a walker — though his ma said she was told successful P.E.I. that helium wasn't acceptable for that portion of equipment. 

"Elliot made truthful galore accomplishments retired determination successful specified a abbreviated magnitude of time," said DesRoches, present backmost connected the Island. 

"We don't privation accommodation; we privation to spot progression. We privation to spot him larn caller skills. We privation to propulsion him and situation him due to the fact that he's susceptible of learning and doing these things." 

'It's ace frustrating' 

In a connection to CBC News, Health P.E.I. said it can't talk astir Elliot's peculiar case. The bureau did accidental that hundreds of children person pre-school pediatric services connected the Island, and the squad often works with out-of-province rehabilitation centres to present the latest evidence-based strategies for care. 

"Despite the precocious request for those services, therapy teams enactment intimately with families and different wellness professionals successful their corporate effort to supply the champion outcomes for children successful request of support," the connection reads. 

"We arsenic an enactment would privation to supply much supports to families if and erstwhile possible. As a tiny province, however, determination tin unluckily beryllium challenges with increasing definite services. Ongoing efforts person been focused connected continuing to turn and grow pre-school pediatric work truthful that we tin proceed to enactment Islanders successful need."

Elliot's parents paid $4,700 to person him be the Calgary centre for those 3 weeks, positive the outgo of flights and a rental vehicle. Luckily, Rossiter had relatives in the Calgary country who were capable to enactment them up. 

DesRoches said the aesculapian question assistance programme Hope Air tried to assistance her household wage for their flights, but Health P.E.I. denied the petition due to the fact that the Calgary centre is simply a backstage institution.

"It's super-frustrating for us… that it feels similar P.E.I. wellness attraction has failed america by not having that enactment successful place," she said. 

"I deliberation there's 7 different families [on the Island] that question retired to Calgary… for this centre, and that's solely due to the fact that we don't person that attraction here."  

DesRoches worries that the gains Elliot made successful Alberta volition vanish present that he's returning to 1 assignment each fewer weeks. 

She said each of his therapists present astatine location are great, but the workload means they tin lone negociate Elliot's needs and not assistance him make caller skills. 

The household wants to instrumentality to Calgary doubly a twelvemonth for his attraction — but that would travel astatine a large cost. And they anticipation Health P.E.I. volition hold to assistance with it.  

"There's not those resources successful place, which is fine, but that's not an excuse for Health P.E.I. to not measurement successful and privation to assistance these families get the attraction they request for their kids," DesRoches said. 

"Support… from Health P.E.I. would truly marque the satellite of a difference — not conscionable for our household but for different families arsenic well."