The Quid Novi MONTREAL, QC
MCGILL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LAW - FACULTÉ DE DROIT DE L’UNIVERSITÉ MCGILL
46 06 19 NOV 2024
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR World Keratoconus Day! Reflecting on Health Care Accessibility Anna McAllister | 4L
During my time working in the Senate of Canada, I heard numerous senators endorse or propose the creation of many “National Days of ___”. While well-intentioned, I caught myself rolling my eyes more than once when valuable time in the legislature was used to ‘debate’ what seemed to me to be an insignificant attempt to garner support with a particular group. What good would a “National Day of ___” do when there is no holiday or other action to actualize spreading awareness for the given cause? I still somewhat hold this cynical belief; however, I am going to be a hypocrite today and draw your attention to the fact that November 10th was World Keratoconus Day. Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with Keratoconus, an eye condition caused by weak cornea cells. Because the cornea is weak, it is prone to changing shape, thinning over time, and becoming cone-like rather than round. For the patient, symptoms can manifest in decreased quality of vision and visual sensations like those caused by astigmatism. If left untreated, keratoconus can progress to blindness. Following my diagnosis, I wrote a PSA in the Quid letting students know that while the likelihood of being diagnosed with
Keratoconus is influenced by one’s genetics, eye rubbing or other traumas to the eyes have also been connected to a higher prevalence of Keratoconus in patients. Luckily, my diagnosis came early, making me a candidate for corneal cross-linking, a surgery that aims to strengthen corneal cells to prevent disease progression. What’s luckier, I could afford the surgery, which is currently not covered by Ontario Health Insurance and can cost patients upwards of 2000$ per eye, not including prescription costs or costs associated with taking time off work to recover. Ironically, the Ontario government will cover the cost of a cornea transplant, the only solution if the disease progresses. Private insurance is also not helpful, as while both my government employee health insurance and my McGill student insurance would cover a small portion of the cost of Lasik eye surgery, an elective surgery to reduce the need for corrective glasses or contacts, they denied my claim to contribute the same amount to my necessary, vision-saving surgery. [continues on the next page...]
CETTE SEMAINE... INSIGHTS
COMMUNAUTÉ
EVENTS
4 | THE CLIMATE CORNER
6 | MLJ CITATION OFFICE
8 | LAWYER MEET & GREET
6 | MY POPCORN BRAIN
7 | BLAST FROM THE PAST
Issue 2
HOURS
Moot Court Renovations?
8 |SONGS YOU NEED TO HEAR
BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR
With CONTOURS, RADLAW & LS4PM
9 | PIE YOUR PROF