Friends of girl, 18, with leukemia sign her casket with loving messages in a final goodbye after she died waiting for a hospital bed during a shortage in Canada
Laura Hillier, 18, died after waiting for a bone marrow transplant during a hospital bed shortage in Canada, despite having willing donors available
An Ontario hospital said it could only do five transplants a month and there were about 30 people who were waiting to have the procedure done
At her funeral, friends and family signed her casket with loving messages
The Hillier family is now fighting in Laura's memory to end 'deadly' wait times for hospital beds in Canada
PUBLISHED: 14:24 EST, 6 February 2016 | UPDATED: 19:10 EST, 6 February 2016
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Laura Hillier (pictured), who had leukemia, died after waiting for a bed to become available in a Canadian hospital for a bone marrow transplant
A girl who died of leukemia was given a final send off after her friends signed her casket with loving messages on January 30.
Laura Hillier got to experience a few normal childhood milestones like graduating high school and getting her senior year book signed before she died on January 20.
Laura might have experienced a few more milestones if a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, hospital had been able to accommodate a bone marrow transplant for the young woman.
Numerous donors were a match with Laura and ready to donate, but Hamilton's Juravinski Hospital didn't have enough beds in high-air-pressure rooms for the procedure.
Hospital staff told her they had about 30 patients with potential donors, but the means to only do about five transplants a month.
Laura was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 13.
She had been completely cancer-free for approximately four years after her first battle with AML, and relapsed this past May.
Though Laura was able to achieve remission for a second time, she relapsed again in November 2015.
Dr. Ralph Meyer, Juravinski's vice-president of oncology and palliative care, told Ontario's TheStar.com there are plenty of others facing the same situation as Laura in Canada.
He said donor registries are growing in size, and technological advances allow transplants to safely happen between people who are less of a match for each other are becoming more and more common.
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Laura's friends signed her casket in a final good bye at her funeral ten days after she died on January 20
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In loving memory: Friends gathered around Laura's signed casket to speak about their experiences with her
'It is crazy to have to be on a wait-list when you have a donor and you are ready to go,' Laura told TheStar.com in July of 2015.
Putting off the surgery meant Laura had to endure her fifth round of painstaking chemotherapy.
After her death in January, her obituary slammed Canada's bed shortage as having 'deadly wait times':
'In Laura's last year with us, she was determined to bring public attention to the problem of deadly wait times for bone marrow transplants in Ontario and across Canada.
'In July 2015, Laura achieved remission for the second time from acute myeloid leukemia and was blessed to have a perfect donor match.
'However, she found out that she would not be able to receive her life-saving transplant for months as there were many waiting ahead of her and not enough resources to handle the demand.'
After her death, the outpouring of love was so great for Laura, her family asked some people to only attend the visitation, rather than the funeral, because they were worried about running out of room.
Friends of the musical theater-loving teen came out in droves, signing the casket in marker, talking about her life and singing songs.
'Though Laura's casket was a beautiful sentiment from her friends and family, Laura's fight, and now our fight, is to change the medical system to end the deadly wait times for patients requiring a bone marrow transplant,' a post on the Hope for Laura Hillier Facebook page said.
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'Life is a song...Sing 'til your heart's content': Laura's funeral touched on her love for music and singing
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Laura (pictured), who loved musical theater, was first diagnosed with leukemia at age 13 and died at age 18
Since there is a clear need for positive pressure rooms, why haven't they been built?
Maybe this publicity will spur some lawmakers to address this.
Because govt operates at a snail's pace. Govt has no sense of urgency or incentives to every do anything beyond the status quo. Govt cannot move mountains to save a young girl's life like the private sector can.
How awful that they can't make space for an 18 yr old. Sorry, but age should absolutely be a factor in these decisions. If you are 75, then you should be down further on the list.
How awful that they can't make space for an 18 yr old. Sorry, but age should absolutely be a factor in these decisions. If you are 75, then you should be down further on the list.
So now you are the death panel? You get to decide whose life is more worth saving? Before ACA we didn't have that here in the US.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
How awful that they can't make space for an 18 yr old. Sorry, but age should absolutely be a factor in these decisions. If you are 75, then you should be down further on the list.
So now you are the death panel? You get to decide whose life is more worth saving? Before ACA we didn't have that here in the US.
That was my thought too. Plus age discrimination.
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I drink coffee so I don't kill you.
I quilt so I don't kill you.
Do you see a theme?
Faith isn't something that keeps bad things from happening. Faith is what helps us get through bad things when they do happen.
How awful that they can't make space for an 18 yr old. Sorry, but age should absolutely be a factor in these decisions. If you are 75, then you should be down further on the list.
So now you are the death panel? You get to decide whose life is more worth saving? Before ACA we didn't have that here in the US.
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
How awful that they can't make space for an 18 yr old. Sorry, but age should absolutely be a factor in these decisions. If you are 75, then you should be down further on the list.
So now you are the death panel? You get to decide whose life is more worth saving? Before ACA we didn't have that here in the US.
2 years ago, he was right at 180, working, dating and enjoying his life.
He started getting sick a lot.
Went to the doctor. Went to another. Then another.
They couldn't tell him what was wrong.
He lost his insurance cause he lost his job being out sick so much.
He qualified for help through the ACA but it wouldn't pay for anything.
He weighed 86 pounds whend he died.
The family is hoping the autopsy gives them some answers.
Private insurance covered testing, medicine for symptoms, hospital stays.
ACA covered hospice.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Oh, FFS.
Show me one post where I claimed our health care is perfect.
Show me one post where I claimed it's a utopia.
Exaggerate much?
I have to go shopping now, but that will give you plenty of time to dig up these old posts of mine. Which don't exist.
Good luck.
Oh, FFS. Show me one post where I claimed our health care is perfect. Show me one post where I claimed it's a utopia. Exaggerate much? I have to go shopping now, but that will give you plenty of time to dig up these old posts of mine. Which don't exist. Good luck.
Wow...this is RIPE. You are always tooting about how much better Canada is. I literally laughed out loud, (scaring my cats) with this post. You are too funny!!!!
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America guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcome...
As a nurse I've seen nightmares in some hospitals. If anyone here thinks that in America all care is even you're just plain stupid.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
How awful that they can't make space for an 18 yr old. Sorry, but age should absolutely be a factor in these decisions. If you are 75, then you should be down further on the list.
So now you are the death panel? You get to decide whose life is more worth saving? Before ACA we didn't have that here in the US.
An 18 yr old should have priority. Yes.
WTF? 8 years ago that wasn't even a thought. It went by who had the donor with an organ most likely to not be rejected by the host body.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
Then THIS is what you "prefer". 18 year olds dying. Great preference.
And you prefer not having Obamacare.
Where this 18 year old couldn't get insured in the first place, before the ACA.
?????
18'year olds were covered under their parents insurance before Obama came along.
FAIL
-- Edited by huskerbb on Monday 8th of February 2016 11:57:50 AM
Welts only has one narrative. That US health care isn't "as good" and that people were dropping dead before the Messiah took office. Funny but i have managed to live my life quite nicely with Obama.
“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
Well, several policies he's made have significantly affected our family in a devastating way. I'm not going to call him names but I can't wait for him to be gone. I'm terrified for the future of this country. The middle class has all but been forgotten and neglected. The rich get richer and the poor get more and more help. Those trying to make a good honest living are suffering.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
Well, several policies he's made have significantly affected our family in a devastating way. I'm not going to call him names but I can't wait for him to be gone. I'm terrified for the future of this country. The middle class has all but been forgotten and neglected. The rich get richer and the poor get more and more help. Those trying to make a good honest living are suffering.
See? It IS possible to criticize the POTUS without resorting to name calling.
Oh, and BTW, Obama hasn't ceased calling Americans names. Bitter clingers, etc. And, he certainly acts like the petulant manchild with all the names he calls Repos, so yeah.