Canadians' Generous Gesture

Canadians set an example when they opened their hands to a young woman, Leslie-Anne Jenkins for treatment of a rare skin disease that had devastated her face. After the QMI Agency had reported that the Ontario health ministry had refused Jenkins’ repeated requests to fund $6oo a month for medication, Canadians donated so generously that Jenkins has enough to complete the treatment.

The rare disease,  hyperkeratotic head and neck malassezia dermatosis ,diagnosed by a leading dermatologist,  makes it look as if her face is covered with clay.  When Jenkins had approached the office of Health Minister Deb Matthews, she got no real help. Although politicians did have the power to grant drug approvals, it is now the bureaucrats who are in control. And it was a bureaucrat who had rejected Jenkins’ plea, saying that funding on compassionate grounds was only for those who had lost a limb or who needed an organ or who were about to die.

In spite of the intense pain she is in, she struggled to express her gratitude. "It's amazing to me that people, most of them strangers, have in three weeks raised the money, I am so grateful. This has truly been the most humbling experience. The generosity shown has been inspiring."



Source-Medindia