Medical History of Ray Whitfield
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I am writing this biography to record my life from a medical point of view. I am in no way whining, but I want to tell people how I have been treated and mistreated in this country we call Canada.
I have told this story in part, before to numerous people and the most common reaction is “This is Scary”. When questioned this the response summarized was – It is scary that in this country at any time that anyone could be put through and have to experience what I have been forced to withstand.
When I was 21 years of age, I was married with a six month old daughter. I found myself in a situation of being told I had Ankylosis Spondylitis and I would be in a wheel chair in two to five years, never able to work again. As I find out now I reacted wrong and should have sat down and made the Doctors prophecies come true. I like a fool, fought my illness and went back to school and got my Grade 12 equivalent , only to find out if employers want a grade 12 an equivalent is not good enough and I could not get an office job or any work.
I ran out of unemployment and I could not get any help from Provincial pensions, because my wife was working as a waitress at minimum wage, and we made too much money. CPP and Insurance from my employer that would not take me back without medical clearance would not pay me, because Ankylosis Spondylitis is not diagnosable in early stages so Insurance said in fact there was nothing wrong.
I went into what I have later found was a remission and went back to work for the next ten years against Doctors orders as a Dairy Herdsman.
Finally in 1989 my doctor said I did not have and never had Ankylosis Spondylitis or I would not be as healthy as I was and it had been brought on by stress. Finally I was able to get back into the work force with benefits and not have to work 100 hours a week to make the rent and support my 2 daughters and wife.
IF only the Doctors had been right!
In 1997 I started long hauling State side and travelled 39 states over the next two and a half years, covering one quarter of a million logged miles. During this time my remission ended and I started to have to use a shelf over my head too lift my head off the pillow after a sleep and my back started aching and /or paining. I then pulled myself off the road in favour of weekend Office, Dock, Administrator for the entire company until again it became too much and I was forced to leave at the end of 2001.
In the proximity of this date I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis, again and until now, I have not mentioned that at age 25, I was diagnosed with Psoriasis.
In January 2002 I started working for Nucomm International, a call center at which I worked as a TSR (Telephone Service Representative)for a large High Speed Cable Internet company, handling customer concerns with their internet service. This is an ever changing, fast paced, high stress job.
Compound this environment with the above mentioned pain and stresses, handling my health issues and you have the potential for a ticking bomb.
May 27th, 2005 I was assisted out of Nucomm by two co-workers and to medical aide, and started Sick Leave.
A combination of stress from work, pain from health issues, and my Mother’s stroke which ended her life after five days on Sunday May 29, I could no longer face my responsibilities at work. My co-workers and management at work could not conceive how I kept going as long as I did. So I started on short Term Disability, which was Employment Insurance for twenty six weeks.
Very early in my time off I was advised to start my application for Long Term. Being Number 0000005930, on Nucomm Internationals contract with Great West Life, I complied.
I and my three doctors all collected information asked for, and specified, or what could be conceived as “Reasonable Documentation”.
This of course was not enough and they wanted clarification for this report and elaboration on that report and showed total disrespect of me and My Doctors, to the point my rheumatologist resigned from my case altogether, leaving me with a Dermatologist and my Family Practitioner.
Now Great West Life tells me they want me to see An Independent Doctor. This Doctor is totally independent, not working for me or them, but paid by them to give a non biased report after a 4 hour examination. This Doctor was so busy I had to wait from July to November for an appointment, however Great West Life out of the goodness of their hearts would pay benefits until “the day” of my appointment. YA RIGHT!!!!
Upon my arrival I made my way into a two story building, with an elevator and a lot of people sitting in front lobby(None could or would speak English) only to find the elevator did not work (strike 1). I made my way too the stairs and was making my way up when a guy came in the backdoor and asked why I was not using the elevator, and I told him it was not working. He followed me upstairs and offered to assist me, but I told him I preferred the solid railing.
The Doctor went into his office through one door while I went into the reception room.
As the session started he told me to be careful what I told him because he had to tell Great West Life everything because he was working for them and not me. (Strike 2) He then went on to tell me that if I was in too much pain and needed a break, I could take as many and as long as I wanted BECAUSE I WAS THE ONLY PATIENT HE WAS SEEING TODAY. You tell me: What qualifications does a doctor with one patient a day have? Do you think he graduated at the top of his class? That for me was strike 3. FYI: My appointment was at 9:30 AM and despite the fact I was told to allow 3 to 4 hours, the appointment was over before 11:30.
While I was getting dressed after the appointment he checked the elevator and offered me a hand down the stairs.
When I got home I called Great West Life to see what they had been told and was told it would take two weeks to hear from the doctor. After two weeks I called them back but they still had not heard anything, so I suggested that they should extend my payments from until the day of my appointment to when the decision was made.
I then called the doctor and was assured the report would be faxed later that very day.
I recalled in 2 days and was told that THEIR doctor had found no evidence that anything was wrong with me and that they should deny any coverage.
I told Dr Papp what they had said and he was upset saying I was going to see Dr Dafna Gladman. With his Referral Dr Kim Papp I had an appointment in a week.
When Dr Gladman came into the examination room, she asked what she could do for me, to which I replied “I wanted her to prove Great West Life’s hired gun wrong____ A Rheumatologist in Toronto.
She replied it had to be one of two Doctors and she named GREAT WEST LIFE’s Independent Hired Gun.
After she and her Student Doctor had examined and assessed my condition, she retorted that she did not know who this hired gun had examined, but it certainly was not me.
Ankylosing Spondylitis and Related Diseases
