http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/ This is a petition to the Government of Canada, Healthcare system, on behalf of Margaret Kirk. She died last year, at the age of 53. She suffered and died from a rare form of brain atrophy and which we hoped an autopsy of her brain would establish cause and name of her neurological disorder. Margaret suffered with this progressive deterioration for 27 years many of which she was bedridden. Prior to her crippling disability, Margaret was married and bore four children, none of which she had the opportunity to watch grow up, because this disease robbed her of all functions. For years she was confined to a hospital bed. They said there was nothing they could do for her. For those years she was there, she could not walk, talk, feed herself, or do anything. She was bedridden and had no quality of life. Our family had to sit back and watch and endure this painful ordeal with helplessness. Four years ago our sister, Kimberley Kirk, was diagnosed with a similar illness as our mother, Margaret. We are residents of Saskatchewan but were referred out-of-province to the Movement Disorders Clinic in Calgary's Foothills Hospital. Kimberley is now 30 years old. With no choice of where to place her for care, the Government of Saskatchewan placed her in a NURSING HOME in Kindersley Saskatchewan. We desperately wanted to keep her close to family but there were no places for people like her or catered to patients of her age. With no other choice presenting itself, they placed Kimberley in a nursing home, in hope that she would receive the kind of care she needs. This facility is not designed for people with her kind of degenerative neurological disease; she does not fit there and is only getting more depressed and losing hope with each day she spends there. We asked if she could be placed into a group home but were told that this wasn't an option. We inquired about assisted living but even with this, at her current stage of atrophy, she is no longer able to live on her own. Doctors have not been able to diagnose the neurological disease which Kimberley is currently suffering and which strongly resembles that which our mother suffered from. With the hope of getting answers, we donated our mother's brain and part of her spine, posthumously, to the neuropathologists in Calgary for study and determination of the cause of her disease. Immediately following her death on May 19, 2005, her brain was transported to the neuropathologists assigned to the case by the Movement Disorders Clinic. We were told it may take as long as six months to get results. It has now (June 7, 2006) been over 1 year and we have yet to receive results or hear word back from Movement Disorders Clinic, despite repeated attempts by us to inquire into the case. The neuropathologist is telling the Movement Disorders Clinic that he is too busy with other cases and justifying with claims that there are other people that are dying for unknown reasons that need to be taken care of first. We would like to understand how the clinic or its practitioners prioritize their cases and get a better sense of why our mother's case has been given such low priority, particularly when the fate of our still living sister hangs in the balance. We have now lost one more year in which knowledge of this disease may have been of use to help our sister Kimberley. We can't get that back, but we do wish to know when we will get some action on this, and when will the fate of our sister's life trickle to the top of someone's attention. We have not deserve such apathy and such non-cooperation from our trusted health authorities and professionals. Please help our family by signing this petition requesting the Government of Canada's healthcare authority do take remediatory action on this! If any of you were in our shoes, you would want our support and do the same. We ask you dear reader to do right by Margaret and Kimberly. Sign our petition and show your support. Perhaps another young life need not end up in tragedy. Thu, 8 Jun 2006 01:1:34 CDT en-us 3 http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig3652834 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig3011066 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST May God be watching over you, Kimberly and your family!! I support this. http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2775770 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2729974 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2716940 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2716939 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST Lets get something done!!!! http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2476462 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2442425 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2426287 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2396181 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2388073 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST god be with you,i will pray for a miracle http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2380300 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST My friend Maureen Cormack alerted me to this situation and I support this situation as this woman and her family should be properly supported by the healthcare system. This could be any of us and we need to support others who need assistance. God Bless this family. http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2370923 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST Kim is my cousin, and I love her. http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2369959 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2367003 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2365861 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2364364 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST it is unfair that your sister has to spend the rest of her life in a Nursing Home when it seems that you are no closer to finding treatment now then you were when your mother became sick. http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2358609 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2357700 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ForKimberleysSake/#sig2357586 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST There are far too many neurological disorders out there to ignore ANY.