If it wasn’t for the intervention of conservative talk radio host Glenn Beck, the start of the new year might have looked very different — and deeply grim — for Canadian Jolene Van Alstine.
In fact, without the spotlight he shone on her situation, Van Alstine could have died this week.
The 45-year-old Saskatchewan native has, for nearly a decade, suffered from a rare but treatable parathyroid disease that causes intense bone pain, nausea, and vomiting.
When the story first rose to international attention, it was reported Van Alstine needed a particular surgery. However, there are currently no surgeons in Saskatchewan able to perform the required procedure. Because of Canada’s healthcare system, Van Alstine would need to be referred to a doctor outside her province, but, in order to obtain a referral, she’d need to first meet with an endocrinologist in Saskatchewan, none of whom were reportedly willing to accept new patient appointments.
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Van Alstine visited the provincial legislature last November, where she begged for assistance in her case. But rather than remove bureaucratic red tape, government workers reportedly suggested the country’s controversial euthanasia program, MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying).
At her wits’ end, she agreed; Van Alstine was slated to see a MAiD provider on Jan. 7 of this year.
When Beck learned of Van Alstine’s story, he jumped on it immediately. In an interview with CBN News, he said, “How do you let a person die? How do the Canadians — how are they viewing this? How are they not standing up themselves and saying, ‘That’s unacceptable. She doesn’t have to die?’”
So moved by her situation, Beck offered to fund Van Alstine’s care, including her transfer to the U.S. and whatever medical intervention might have been necessary for her recovery.
That overwhelming act of kindness has given Van Alstine a new lease on life and a renewed energy to keep fighting toward healing — rather than taking the government up on physician-assisted suicide, a route she said she never wanted to take.
“Yes, today was the original day they gave me,” she told the Toronto Sun on Wednesday, later telling the outlet, “I’m Roman Catholic. Suicide is a sin, but I just couldn’t stand the pain and nausea and vomiting and overheating 24/7.”
While Beck’s offer to fly Van Alstine to Florida still stands, the Sun is reporting surgeons in Tampa, Saskatchewan, and Ontario are discussing what would be the best next steps in her case.
Together, doctors have concocted a strategy for Van Alstine.
“I have been taking high doses of calcium and vitamin D,” she said. “This was recommended by the specialist from Toronto, and the surgeon in Florida agreed that this should be tried first.”
She explained the doctors told her, “If it brings my parathyroid levels down to low normal, then I don’t need another surgery; I need an endocrinologist who deals with patients who need monitoring of their calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium levels and can adjust them as needed.”
However, she added, “If it does not bring my levels down, then there is still another gland inside me somewhere that is overactive.”
Beck and Van Alstine have remained in touch, according to the Sun.
CBN News has reached out to Beck for a statement. This story will be updated if he offers comment.
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