This is my first e-mail to my local polition, I was very nervous writing this , I think that its because I am so worried that it wont help anything ,,, anyhow here it is, if anyone can help fine tune it I would appricate it
Mr. Cuzner:
I will be starting my e-mail with a quote to get you informed as to what is
happening in Richmond County.
Less cause, more effect
Nova Scotia's Richmond County has a distinction it doesn't want - statistics
show the rate of kidney disease there is 10 times higher than the provincial
average.
While researchers scramble to figure out the why, municipal councilors are more
concerned with what Health Minister Chris d'Entremont will do to help them cope.
Researchers, who theorize Acadian families in Isle Madame are genetically
predisposed towards high rates of kidney disease, are now in the early stages of
a two-year study to determine precisely what causes the disease to be so
prevalent among them. Residents have been providing the researchers with
information on their family histories as well as DNA samples.
"We've identified a number of families and family members that have been
diagnosed since we first started," explains Cape Breton Regional Hospital
nephrologist Dr. Tom Hewlett, "and the patterns we're seeing are very suggestive
of a genetic cause - there's no question about that."
Perhaps not surprisingly, local politicians are less interested in long-term
cause than immediate impact. At their last meeting, Richmond municipal
councilors voted unanimously to ask the health department for more dialysis
machines as well as for better training for local nurses and doctors in how to
deal with the disease.
I would like to bring it to your attention that as of today Richmond County has
3 dialysis chairs, at the Strait Richmond Hospital. There is at least 5 people
on the waiting list for seats. At this point all of the people that should be
getting treatment in this region are being forced to drive to Sydney or
Antigonish. I find this incredible unfair to be expected to drive to another
region when our own is more then capable of providing the LIFE sustaining
treatment that so many of us need.
I am asking officially for help in this matter, I have been traveling 3 times a
week for 2 years, I am 42 and have a family, I spend more time on the road then
I do with them. Your help in this matter is greatly appreciated. I will be
waiting patiently for your reply.
Kim Hoben
Mulgrave, Guysborough County
www.kimhoben.com