A Halifax woman has spent years fighting for out-of-province care. Now she's ready to end her life

As Jennifer Brady climbs into inflatable pants that cover from her toes to her chest, she positions her water bottle on the table beside her and starts pushing buttons on a machine.

The device, called a Lympha Press, is designed to move the fluid in her legs. She spends at least five hours a day tied to the machine, unable to do anything else — including caring for her two children, ages nine and 13. She also wears compression garments 24 hours a day.

This, combined with the fact she has been fighting the provincial Health Department in court for two years, has pushed the Halifax woman to the brink.

"I can't go on living like this," Brady said.

"My life revolves around managing my legs and experiencing pain every day and doing all this work to manage this disease and it continues to get worse and causes me tremendous pain every day."

Brady, a dietitian and occasional columnist for CBC's Information Morning Halifax, has lymphedema. It's a disease that causes an accumulation of fluid and can result in painful swelling, increased risk of blood infection, cellulitis and hardening of the skin. In her case, it's a side-effect from having her lymph nodes removed during a radical hysterectomy to treat cervical cancer. 

In June, Brady applied for medical assistance in dying (MAID). Following intake, the MAID team brought her case to the attention of clinical lead Dr. Gord Gubitz, who then wrote a letter addressed to the special adviser to the Minister of Health and Wellness. Brady shared the letter with CBC. 

"I have reviewed dozens of atypical MAID requests, but have never found myself in the position of writing a letter such as this," wrote Gubitz on July 7.

"In my experience, people do not request MAID unless their life circumstances have become so dire that it is the only option. To request a MAID assessment is not an easy thing for most people; to do so when one is only 46 years old, otherwise healthy, and has two children at home is almost unthinkable."

In the letter, Gubiz said Brady satisfies all federal criteria for medically assisted death except for one — that the medical condition underlying her request is irremediable. He said there are clear options for care that have been identified and should be explored.

"Your office can make this happen," he wrote to the province's health department. 

The care Brady is seeking is surgery that is covered by Nova Scotia's Medical Service Insurance (MSI), but no one in the province provides it and Nova Scotia has denied her request for out-of-province care.

She's paid out-of-pocket for a consultation in Montreal and remortgaged her home to pay a surgery in Japan, but without MSI coverage, she said she cannot afford to get the ongoing care two doctors have said she needs to manage the condition that has made her life unbearable. 

Brady's battle for medical care is well-documented through an ongoing judicial review she filed in July 2022 in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia to get reimbursement from the province for her medical care and better care options for people in her position. Final arguments were made in March and both parties are still waiting for a decision.