Family has no say in their loved one’s life

By Letter to the Editor on December 1, 2017.

My mother in law was born and raised in Medicine Hat 91 years ago. Last year we decided as a family to look into an old-age home for her and her husband.

All was taken care of. All we needed was her family doctor to sign the papers to have them placed into a home. He didn’t. Now in July this healthy lady was committed to the hospital because she told off the doctor for making her wait with a booked appointment that was three hours late. We were told to put her on a waiting list because she needed to be assessed by home care. She is now in long-term care. We were told to pick three places for her to live. We picked Valleyview, Good Sams and Riverview.

Her son was told she is going to River Ridge, or she goes to Bow Island, 45 minutes away.

So for their 60th anniversary, she will be in River Ridge and her husband at Valleyview.

We were not told at the time when we put her on the list that we can’t take her home or where she is going. We are left in the dark. Nothing was discussed with us, and her doctor has not seen her since he committed her into the hospital.

The government has taken over our lives and we are stuck in a bad situation. This policy of having no say in our loved ones’ lives is wrong!

I hope this letter helps others to make the right decision before it’s too late as it was for us.