Hope Air

Medical Travel Assistance

Health For All means Canadians, like Katie, can access the care they need

Health For All means Canadians, like Katie, can access the care they need

Katie required a life-changing and life-saving abdominal surgery, which needed to take place in Vancouver, where the equipment and procedure are available. In order to function, Katie was told, she would have to undergo reconstructive surgery of her abdomen.

“I realized it would be a challenge even before the final diagnosis and had been unsure what I was going to do.”

Katie was unable to drive to her appointment because she didn’t own a car, and couldn’t rent or borrow one due to the expense. Through a medical advisor, Katie discovered Hope Air for the first time.

“Hope Air has been amazing to deal with. They have gone out of their way to be gracious and accommodating, and I couldn’t ask for any more since their service and is as close to selfless as you’re going to get,” Katie says.

If not for Hope Air, Katie would have postponed the surgery that saved her life and allowed her to thrive.

Katie says, “I am now living my life to the fullest and thriving thanks to the life-saving surgery I received… I would once again turn to an organization that I know, and would recommend without hesitation, Hope Air. Huge thanks to everyone at Hope Air for turning a time of difficulty and challenge into a one of health, growth, gratitude.”  
Roger and his wife Susie are from Northern Ontario, a nearly thirteen-hour drive from the hospital Roger would have to reach for his compartment syndrome surgery in Hamilton, Ontario. Roger lives near Kapuskasing, Ontario, with his wife Susie. His symptoms first began 15 years ago, with intense pressure and pain in his legs and arms that was accompanied by swelling.

After visiting several doctors near his home and in Thunder Bay, Roger was diagnosed with compartment syndrome, a condition where his muscles expanded as if he had done strenuous exercise. Compartment syndrome is a rare condition where, untreated, causes nerve damage, amputation, loss of muscle function, and kidney failure, among other consequences. Doctors did not know what caused Roger’s condition, but knew that it needed urgent medical intervention.

We acknowledge that we live and work on the unceded, traditional territories of many Indigenous peoples. We are grateful for the privilege of being on lands that these peoples have nurtured since time immemorial.