(Pictured: NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat and April Mcivor)
A Nipawin family and the Saskatchewan NDP are calling on the Sask Party government to cover the costs of their daughter’s life-saving medication.
Morgan Buyaki (buy-yak-e) is 23-years-old and has been suffering from various health conditions over the years and recently doctors diagnosed her with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, known as EGPA for short.
This causes inflammation in blood cells. Buyaki struggles to breathe, frequently vomits and has issues with her liver, kidneys and heart due to the rare disease.
Morgan’s mom, April Mcivor says currently, the province is paying for 100mg of her daughter’s medication, however she needs 300mg monthly. The mother adds the life-saving treatment could cost the family upwards of $9,000 dollars a month.
She adds it’s tough to plea for help when other families are having their own financial difficulties with the price of living increasing.
“It was really difficult for me personally to start the GoFundMe, I feel like in Canada now, every family is struggling from the cost of gas to groceries, everything has went up so high and we’re just struggling everyday.”
The family started up a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $200,000 dollars.
“The reason the GoFundMe is because I’m so worried as a parent that the government will approve it too late, before it’s already too late to save her life and so with the GoFundMe, I was hoping to raise enough for six months of medication.”
Mcivor and the provincial NDP held a news conference in Saskatoon Friday with the hope of having Morgan attend, however she wasn’t feeling up to speaking with the media that day.
The NDP is calling on the province to create a rare disease strategy which has previously been promised by the Saskatchewan government.
A link to the GoFundMe page can be found below.
