Inadequate healthcare & Income to live with chronic pain & disability

I was making anywhere from $3000 to $5000 per month in Sales.

Then in 2011 I was driving to a seamstress for a friends wedding. It was the middle of the afternoon on the last day of Stampede. A guy drunk driving ran a red light & hit me as I entered the intesection. I was knocked out by the hit & deployment of airbags. He was also speeding. I was niave, I expected that it was in my auto insurance companies interest to look after me, but I guess it worked better for them to put me 50% at fault even though I was going the speed limit & my light was green when he hit me. My insurance company said that ehey would leave my claim open for injuries, but when I went to the Hospital told them I had been in a Car accident & I was having neck pain. The only imaging they would do at the time was an XRat which does not show a complete picture only bones & not the spinal canal or tissues like muscle & such. They said there was no change from my last XRay but I knew there was a change, I could feel it! I kept going back to emergency & doctors no one would listen. i was not able to get a sufficient doctors report that I could submit to insurance. My pain kept getting worse Still no MRI or other imaging beyond an XRay. By March of 2012 I was having trouble walking, my legs felt they each weighed 1000LBS, stil no one would listen. I started using a cane to walk until one day my hands started shaking & I couldn't hold a pen or even write my signature between the pain & the shaking of my hands. The pain in my right arm & hand (I am righthanded) was so severe I thought I was having a stroke! My friend rushed me to the Urgent care facility, they thought I was having a stroke too. But they were able to rule that out very quickly. Finally 10 Months later I got an MRI I had had whiplash that never got treated & resulted in a worsening of Osteoarthritis in my neck & I was diagnosed with Cervical Spondylosis with Radiculopathy, moderately severe stenosis & osteophites causing an impingment on my C6 nerve between my C5 & C6 nerve. I had also had other symptoms from that injury including migraine like headaches. I already had Osteoarthritis in both my knees, but after the car accident I had severe pain in Both my knees & my left hip. They still have not done appropriate diagnosis of why I have this hip pain. They just keep telling there is nothing wrong 9 years later. I have not been able to resume steady employment because of pain & my injuries, But I have not had an appropriate levels of rehabilitation, I was never treated for Whiplash like I should have been & I was never able to submit an full report of my injuries from the Car accident because Doctors would not listen & my time ran out to submit or file a lawsuite. I feel like the entire system Including healthcare failed me & so did the insurance laws that now prevent me from going after my insurance company so I could get appropriate settlement for my injuries. If I could have had a proper assesment for injury from my car accident and been treated for whiplash at the time of the car accident I could have probably been working the last 9 years. I have pain everyday. Some days I can walk 2 miles otherdays I can walk 1 block. My neck still hurts me everyday causes lack of sleep from the pain, It hurts to wear a bra. I've gained weight because I have difficulty with pain & mobility. I was 2 different opiod medications & taking over 1800 mgs of Gabapentin per day this left me like zombie My brain could not function properly My cognitive brain function was severly diminished & I mostly slept all day from the Pain Meds. I eventually got a prescription for Medical Marijuana, being able to pick certain strains based on the their compositon greatly improved all the inflamatiion in my body as well as controls my pain better than all the other pain meds I was on combined & gave me my mind back. I was awake again, but unfortunately because Medical Marijuana is not covered by Provincial Pharmacare program I am not able to get completely free of Gabapentin (now 900 mg/daily) or T3s taken 2-4 tabs daily. I also used to do long distance cycling, but because of my neck I cannot ride a regular bike anymore. I miss cycling & could lose a lot weight if I could cycle, but due to my neck injury I need a Recumbent wit underseat steering & that can be adapted for height & such because of my knees, but that bicycle costs over $2000 dollars & cannot afford that. There is also No funding in Canada for my Demographic for Adaptive Sports Equipment. I also beleive I could return to gianfull employment if I could afford my medical marijuana & get Real Rehabilitation aimed at improving my physical function & pain outcomes .

My Doctor also informed me yesterday that the private clinic he works at will doc his stipend if he continues to work at the Clinic I see him at. I cannot afford to see him at the Private Clinic and Thanks to Tyler Shandro & Jason Kenny My doctor who has a special needs child to provide for cannot afford to work at the clinic that my Publicly funded healthcare covers, he has already had a pay cut of 66% of his income because of Tyler Shandro & Jason Kenny bad public health policy & funding. Albertans want to get rid of the UCP Government We do not feel we can wait the 3 years till next election to save our Doctors & Healthcare. Please I beg the Federal Government to intervene on belhalf of Albertans Especially Those of us Forced on to Provincial Disability. He has Cut Funding to AISH too & we were already suffering more than nessecary