N.B. woman must move to Toronto for life-saving lung transplant. She can’t afford to go

While the surgery is covered by New Brunswick's Medicare, the program only partially subsidizes the cost of lodging, which will be significant in Toronto.

Right before Yvette Taylor’s husband died a year and a half ago, she made a vow to him — one that’s proving costly to fulfil.

The 67-year-old New Brunswick woman promised she would get a life-saving procedure and keep strong.

“I made a promise to my husband that I would get a double lung transplant on his dying bed. And I’m hoping to keep that promise,” she said from her home in Riverview, N.B.

Taylor has sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that has severely impacted her lung capacity.

“It affects everything in my life. It affects my walking. I can’t do a lot of things by myself, which is the big deal for me because I’m very independent,” she said.

Her condition has significantly worsened since her husband’s death, and now she’s looking to relocate to Toronto to get her name on the list for a double lung transplant.

While the surgery is covered by New Brunswick’s Medicare, the program only partially subsidizes the cost of lodging, which will be significant in Toronto.

Melanie Langille, the president and CEO of NB Lung, explained it’s commonplace for patients in the province to relocate when they’re waiting for transplant surgery.