08/12/2026
The call came six months late. Bruce took it in the car, driving back from the check-up after the heart surgery he had already paid for himself.
It started in April 2024. He kept running short of breath, so he went to his doctor in Manitoba. Then nothing. No call back, no appointment, no answer.
By May he had crossed into Minnesota to have his heart looked at. They found a serious blockage and told him to get surgery soon. He went back in July and had it done.
Manitoba reached him in September, six months after that first appointment, to discuss how serious his condition was and to book him a surgery about six months out. Bruce asked the obvious question. If it is that serious, why am I waiting almost a year? He says he was told to stay on his medication. In his words, if meds were enough to keep him alive, why did he need the surgery at all.
Bruce could afford to pay. Most Canadians cannot, and that is the part a change in policy can actually fix. In the European Union, a patient facing a long wait can get treatment in another member country and be reimbursed up to what their own government would have spent to treat them at home. Canada could adopt the same thing. Even people who never travel come out ahead, because the line moves up a spot every time someone else goes.
Bruce's advice was simple. Don't assume you have health care, and be your own advocate.
Learn more: healthreformnow.ca
Watch Bruce's story: https://secondstreet.org/2025/05/21/story-canadian-gets-life-saving-care-abroad/