Injured Cape Bretoner returns to Nova Scotia
Wagmatcook woman needed $20,000 to fly home after serious spinal injury
The kindness of Canadians from across the country has made it possible for a Cape Bretoner to fly back to Nova Scotia for treatment following a spinal injury that left her paralyzed in a remote northern community in May.
On Tuesday, Nancy MacDonald was airlifted from a hospital in Ottawa to the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax to receive treatment close to home for a spinal cord injury she suffered while alone in her home in Igloolik, Nunavut.
After her husband passed away two years ago, MacDonald, originally from Wagmatcook, decided to start a new chapter in her life by helping others. In 2015 she moved to Igloolik, Nunavut, and worked as the community’s economic development officer — a job she’d
held for more than 30 years in Nova Scotia.
While at her home in Igloolik, MacDonald fell and was paralyzed from the neck down, which resulted in her needing $20,000 to travel to Nova Scotia
for treatment to be close to family. Doctors said it’s too early to tell how much movement MacDonald will recover but she will need continuous care for the foreseeable future.
Her daughter, Natasha Jameson, who left her home outside of Halifax to be at her mother’s side, said MacDonald was helpless in her home for hours before she was airlifted to Ottawa.
“She had her injury overnight on a Saturday but she wasn’t found until Sunday, so she didn’t get to Ottawa until Monday night, which is where I met her.”
While MacDonald was in the hospital in Ottawa, the Global Angel Charitable Organization took an interest in her situation and led the charge to locate funding to fly MacDonald to the QEll in Halifax. The foundation assists patients who require complex medical support on air ambulances, charter flights or airlines.
Jameson said patients with serious injuries in the North are sent to Ottawa, which had the appropriate medical equipment to treat MacDonald, which in turn made it harder for MacDonald to be transferred to Halifax. But it all eventually fell into place.
“Once she got there (Ottawa), she was kind of just there, and because everything medically necessary was there — there was a lot back and forth as far as ‘well is this medically necessary if you’re in Ottawa? — so, no, we won’t send you back to Nova Scotia,’” said Jameson.
“When push came to shove everything started to work. Angels of Flight (the Global Angel Charitable Organization) got involved and the Ottawa Civic Hospital was amazing and her home community of Wagmatcook got involved and a lot of other support.”
The community of Wagmatcook was a lifeline for MacDonald and her family. The community was invested in MacDonald’s recovery and helped Jameson with the costs of her flights to visit her mother. Wagmatcook Chief Norman Bernard said it’s important for the community to take care of its own.
“Money wasn’t an object — it was getting her home. She’s a lot better off in Halifax where family members can visit.”
As MacDonald adjusts to the QEll in Halifax, Jameson said her mother hasn’t decided where she will permanently live but she’s already started thinking about life after she finishes her rehabilitation program.
“She has already been talking about when she gets to that point (of finishing rehab) and saying ‘Oh, where should I settle?’” said Jameson “She loves Nova Scotia in general, she’s from Cape Breton but I have two children and that’s her granddaughters so she at the same time somewhat wants to be close to them.”
MacDonald’s road to recovery is a long one, but Jameson said her mother is determined and with support will continue to be positive.
“She’s a determined and strong individual so I have no doubt whatever abilities God gives her, she will work with what she has. Her spirit is really good now that she knows she’ll be closer to home and in a position where she’ll see other peoples’ faces and not just mine.”