WEDNESDAY JULY 1 2026
$1.25
NEWSSTAND PRICE
NEWS4
GROUSE GRIND CHALLENGE WINNERS
Dredge report
Port authority gets OK to dredge Second Narrows for tankers
LIFESTYLE13
Bottle service
North Van dad finds surprise success in baby products market
SPORTS16
Rise and Grind
Racer wins challenge with 19 Grouse Grind ascents in one day SUBSCRIBE TO OUR DAILY EMAIL AT
nsnews.com/newsletter
RARE DISORDER
Mom pleads for province to fund son’s treatment JANE SEYD
jseyd@nsnews.com
The mother of a nine-yearold North Vancouver boy is pleading with the province to reconsider after the health ministry rejected a request to fund a potentially life-saving treatment only available in Germany.
Nathan Hepburn has a rare brain disorder called arterial venous malformation that puts him at risk for blood vessels in his brain to rupture without warning, risking brain damage or even death. Treatment in Canada has so far been unsuccessful and doctors here have told Nathan’s mom Natasha Hepburn his best chance is to seek a specialized treatment only available in Germany. But so far, a B.C. program intended to fund treatments for rare conditions not available in Canada has rejected a request to pay for Nathan’s treatment. Now both Hepburn, who is a registered nurse, and Nathan’s neurosurgical team have appealed the decision, and Hepburn is rallying all the support she can.
So far, they haven’t received an answer. The first sign of trouble came when Nathan was just five years old, said Hepburn, when she noticed him staring blankly into the air – signs of a possible focal seizure. An MRI revealed the AVM condition deep in his brain, in an area known as the thalamus. The condition is very rare, affecting less than one per cent of the population. Treatments for the condition in Canada include surgery to remove the abnormal blood vessels, radiation or a third type of treatment where a medical glue is used to close off damaged blood vessels through one of the body’s main arteries. Because Nathan’s condition is so rare, two teams – one at B.C. Children’s Hospital and one at Sick Kids’ Hospital in Toronto – co-ordinated his care. Doctors determined surgery wasn’t an option – the damaged blood vessels were located too deep in Nathan’s brain – so they attempted radiation. Continued on A27
North Vancouver mom Natasha Hepburn and her son Nathan draw a picture of his favourite stuffy. Hepburn is appealing the province’s decision not to fund specialized treatment in Germany for Nathan’s rare brain disorder. PAUL MCGRATH / NSN
Proudly Canadian Since 1922