A family from Caledon, Ont., is facing a $100,000 medical bill after their teen daughter underwent a surgery in the U.S. to treat a rare, potentially life-threatening digestive disorder.
Ciara O'Rafferty, 13, has been suffering from superior mesenteric artery syndrome, or SMAS, for two years. The painful condition is caused when arteries compress a portion of the small intestine, making it difficult for patients to eat and digest food.
Symptoms of SMAS include nausea, vomiting and significant weight loss.
"I just felt sick," Ciara O’Rafferty recalled. "I was tired and I was nauseous and I had a sore stomach."
Desperate to find help for Ciara, her family wanted doctors at London Health Sciences Centre and Toronto's the Hospital for Sick Children to perform a special surgery that could potentially improve her condition.
But doctors at both hospitals would not perform the procedure, saying it was too invasive.
At the time, Ciara could only be fed intravenously and her family feared she would die.
Ciara's mother eventually found a doctor in the U.S. who would perform the surgery.
"I'm on a support-group website for SMAS syndrome and I just happened to read a comment. And then I personally got in touch with a person who I consider a very good friend now who lives in Idaho," said Ciara's mother, Susan O’Rafferty. "Her daughter had just had the surgery."
A doctor at Sick Kids, however, wouldn't sign off on OHIP coverage for the procedure and the family says they were forced to pay out-of-pocket.
A crowdfunding campaign was set up in March to help pay for the procedure, and more than $47,000 has been raised so far.
Since the surgery, Ciara's family says the teen has been able to eat without a tube and has been keeping food down since the operation. But they say she has not gained any weight. Tests are being performed to determine if she has any other existing issues that may be affecting her health.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss
