A thread sharing only a FEW instances where my life was threatened by profiling in Canadian healthcare.
I really think it will take more of us sharing these stories for some people to realize the very real ways racism & sexism affects our health outcomes. This ≠ opinion.

Doctor, Lethbridge, 2012. Our family doctor told me that the pain I was experiencing was because I was “a teenage girl” and refused further care. I was later rushed to the Children’s Hospital two hours away because my several broken ribs were about to puncture my lung.

Doctor, Toronto, 2018. I have a permanent disability because a careless doctor prescribed me the wrong medication, leaving me virtually untreated for a month & causing permanent scarring on my pelvic organs, chronic pain, two periods a month, and regularly bursting ovarian cysts.

Hospital, Toronto, 2018. A triage nurse didn’t believe me when I said my condition was worsening, & told me to go to the pharmacy to get Tylenol. I passed out in the aisle, triggered a Code Blue. This was my 3rd visit that week, being turned away both times before.

After being admitted in this 3rd hospital visit, I experienced an excruciating spike in pain on the 8th day. I got MRIs/ultrasounds. A male doctor came and told me everything was fine, that “some women experience pain when ovulating” & refused further treatment (Toronto, 2018).

I told the doctor I didn’t trust him or his patronizing tone and requested (demanded) a second review. Within the next few hours I was rushed into an emergency surgery (Toronto, 2018).

Hospital, Calgary, 2019. Third visit after being turned away twice before, I told the gynaecologist that I didn’t trust the previous doctor’s denial of further treatment from the day before. I had periodically lost mobility of my leg at this point due to nerve complications

After further tests as per my demand and mistrust of the previous doctors’ denial of further treatment, they found a hemorrhagic cyst that required immediate operation. I was rushed into surgery & I almost lost my ovary (Calgary, 2019).

Hospital, Calgary, 2020. I went to the hospital 4 months post-op with similar pain that led to my surgery. Doctor profiled me and discharged me with the assumption that I had an STD. She was wrong, as confirmed by the tests, & the cyst burst. It took months to recover.

There are aspects of the Canadian healthcare system to be proud of- but we do not have equal access, we are not treated equal, & we do not have equal reason to trust the system.
If you want to know +, the supporting stats are easily found. I’m not doing that labour for you today.

Thank you to those in healthcare aware of & committed to changing the consequences we face navigating a system that was never made for us.
I’ll end this thread with the best piece of advice I’ve gotten about navigating healthcare via #BlackTwitter &
@yamaniyansa:

Please recognize the labour we exert & the process of retaumatization we can experience in sharing stories of harm. Don’t expect this from us, these stories are gifts.
I would like to start hearing more stories from those benefitting from systemic privileging. We need you too.