Health

Since I was young, I have been in good health, and usually I went to the hospital twice a year just for routine checkups. Back in my home country, Cameroon, private clinics usually have welcoming doctors and staff. When I arrived, they took the time to understand my concern and did their best to quickly resolve any health issues that I had.

I used to complain about our public health system because if you don’t have money, it’s very difficult to receive a quick or good care, and in public hospitals, staff and doctors are not welcoming. It’s the reason why I always preferred private clinics. You could see people die or suffer because they didn’t have money to go to a private hospital or take care of themselves. It was very crazy and sad to live through this situation without being able to help them.

That is one of many reasons why I chose to immigrate to Canada, believing that the health system would be better, and my health and my family’s health would be in a better condition. However, I was wrong about a few things. Canada is a welcoming country, and the best thing that I appreciate is that, they don’t prioritize money when you have your health card. But I had a bad experience in this country when I had a tooth problem. I suffered from many vibrations that travelled from my tooth to my head for exactly two months. Every week, I went to the walking clinics and took different medications to reduce the pain that already paralyzed the left side of my head. I was very sad to see my kids crying because their mother was not well. One day, one general practitioner referred me to a dentist thinking that the issue might be dental. I made an appointment, and once arrived, they took the decision to extract one of my teeth. I was very happy thinking my trauma would end, but NO, the dentist forgot one piece of my tooth in my mouth.

A few days later, the pain returned stronger but I had already moved to another city. I spent my time with my husband looking for a dental clinic to help me, but we were unsuccessful. When we arrived and asked for help, no one accepted me as a new patient by saying, “We don’t take new patients.” Every day, I cried like a child in front of my children and my husband. They were very sad and said many prayers for me. One day, I went to one dental clinic and told the doctor who received me in tears, “I am sorry. I am disappointed with this country. Even if you explained that you do not take a new patient, sometimes, you should make an exception for people that suffer like this.”

One day, I thought of returning back to my home country to take care of my tooth, but finally, one dentist accepted me as a new patient and removed this piece of tooth. I told them that in my home country, in an emergency situation, you would receive care even if they don’t take new patients, just because they see one person in pain. In my opinion, the Canadian system is very difficult. I was traumatized and afraid of dying and leaving my family in tears.