With only 10% full recovery in the best of circumstances, wait times are just one of the many problems in stroke. LACK OF EXACT 100% RECOVERY PROTOCOLS IS THE MAIN PROBLEM! And NOBODY is working on that because we have fucking failures of stroke associations DOING NOTHING!
Sault man who suffered stroke on vacation ‘very frustrated’ by rehab wait times
The primary caregiver for a Sault Ste. Marie man who suffered a stroke while vacationing abroad feels like she’s running out of options.
Doug Fecteau requires extensive rehabilitation — and cranioplasty after having a portion of his skull surgically removed — but wait times for post-stroke care have left him in limbo for months.
“We're co-parenting and raising two amazing boys together,” said Melanie Dale, who has been advocating for Fecteau’s medical care.
“So, it's worth it to me — and I'll do anything possible to try and continue to ensure that he gets the care that he deserves.”
The 43-year-old suffered a stroke on Nov. 11, 2024 while vacationing in South America.
He underwent a craniectomy — a surgical procedure that involved removing portions of Fecteau’s skull and brain — two days later at a private hospital.
“They had to remove that piece of his brain to allow his brain to swell and heal, and kind of come back to normal so that he could survive,” Dale said. “Otherwise, the swelling would have just continued and the damage would have continued, and the brain injury would have got worse.
“He would have died without removing that piece of skull.”
Dale contacted medical professionals back in Canada after travelling to South America to be by Fecteau’s side.
“They basically just told me that I should get in touch with a couple of hospitals in Toronto and potentially see about having him transferred there,” she said. “It wasn't super helpful.”
The pair returned to Canada this past May.
“He had to obviously have a lengthy hospitalization in a private care facility, rehabilitation, and then medical clearance to then travel again — and then that put us back here in Canada,” Dale said.
Fecteau’s medical documentation was in a different language, which meant various medical tests had to be re-ordered before a referral to a neurosurgeon could be completed.
He was also referred to the Stroke Prevention Clinic at Health Sciences North in Sudbury, but was advised there would be a minimum wait of two months for post-stroke care and rehabilitation.
Dale then reached out to the March of Dimes in an attempt to get the ball rolling for Fecteau in order to receive physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy on an out-patient basis.
She was under the impression that physiotherapy would happen within a week of the assessments being completed. But when she called back two weeks later, she was informed that occupational therapy had been paused due to employees being off work indefinitely.
Now, he’s left to deal with the aftermath of a stroke without the aid of rehabilitation services.
“We have done a bit of private physiotherapy for Doug, and I've looked into other private ways to support him,” said Dale. “But it's very cost prohibitive, and unfortunately just not always in the budget.
“Doug has an amazing potential for rehab as far as I'm concerned. He's otherwise a very healthy man, and he's determined — but he has been very frustrated with the waits.”
A referral was issued for a neurosurgeon in Sudbury after undergoing a CT scan this past July, but Fecteau’s consultation isn’t taking place until January.
He also has an appointment at the stroke clinic in the Sault this week in order to obtain the necessary referrals.
A spokesperson for Sault Area Hospital (SAH) said the Stroke Prevention Clinic generally sees all patients who were admitted with a stroke within three months.
After the initial assessment, follow-up appointments and further investigations are scheduled as needed. Patients may then be referred to out-patient physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology services.
Referrals may also be made to homecare and other community agencies as needed.
The spokesperson said SAH does not currently offer neurological services, and referrals are generally made to Health Sciences North in Sudbury.
But Dale feels that time is running out.
Fecteau is experiencing fatigue, along with ongoing headaches, dizziness and vertigo, as a result of the craniectomy.
She wants the father of their children to receive appropriate care — and soon — and is willing to take him anywhere in the world to accomplish that, after being left frustrated with long wait times.
“The window of opportunity for Doug's rehabilitation, even despite his tenacity and determination, is getting shorter and shorter,” Dale said.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched last year in order to offset Fecteau's medical costs and travel, raising more than $44,000 to date.
Dale said she is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from those who contributed to the fundraiser.
“Without each and every one of them Doug's life may not be here, and he may not have been saved,” she said.
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