Juno News - June 29, 2023


Unvaxxed Albertan fights for her life


Episode Stats

Length

18 minutes

Words per Minute

150.35489

Word Count

2,775

Sentence Count

205

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.320 So I will fight as long as I can and do what I can to fight for myself and the rest of Canada,
00:00:11.080 for the other people that need these surgeries as well.
00:00:23.820 Hey everyone, welcome back to the Alberta Roundup.
00:00:26.660 I am joined by a very special guest today.
00:00:30.620 I have Sheila Annette Lewis with me on the program.
00:00:33.640 We have been following her story very closely on the show over the last couple of months
00:00:38.780 and I am very excited to have the opportunity to interview her.
00:00:42.300 And I know that you guys are going to be interested in hearing more about her case.
00:00:46.400 Sheila, thank you so much for joining me today.
00:00:48.980 Thank you for having me on, Rachel.
00:00:50.680 So Sheila, we know that your efforts to basically get back on the organ donor transplant list in Canada
00:00:58.040 have been stymied pretty much at every turn.
00:01:01.140 You obviously have taken this up to the Alberta Appeal Court
00:01:03.920 and then you even sought to have the Supreme Court of Canada hear your case.
00:01:07.620 We know now that they turned that down.
00:01:10.360 I have to say, were you surprised when you heard that they were not going to hear your case?
00:01:14.940 Did you expect that it would be taken up to the Supreme Court?
00:01:19.240 Yeah, I was.
00:01:20.700 I was really surprised.
00:01:22.780 And I was surprised that the Supreme Court acted on it so quickly as well.
00:01:31.120 I was expecting it to take a while for them to make a decision on my case.
00:01:38.500 And were you given any details as to why your case was rejected or just a flat,
00:01:45.300 no, we will not hear your case?
00:01:47.680 For the Supreme Court of Canada, it was just, it just come back that it was,
00:01:53.640 they did not want to hear the case.
00:01:55.520 It was denied.
00:01:56.780 And that was it.
00:01:58.080 We weren't given any more details.
00:02:00.740 They just denied to hear the case.
00:02:03.640 So since that happened, there's also been another very positive development in your story.
00:02:11.020 Now we have learned that a U.S. hospital is actually willing to give you the organ transplant that you need.
00:02:18.400 You said that it was a hospital in Texas.
00:02:20.540 I'm just wondering if you'd be willing to share some details with us about which hospital that is
00:02:25.380 and how you actually got in touch with them and were able to get on their transplant list
00:02:29.980 despite being an international citizen.
00:02:32.100 Well, we called different organizations in the United States.
00:02:39.000 They kind of helped in some of it.
00:02:42.140 We also did a lot of cold calls.
00:02:44.840 The people behind the scenes that are helping me, they did a lot of cold calls themselves.
00:02:49.560 And then we came across, this was on the list that was given to us by the United States
00:02:55.000 of some possible hospitals that might be willing to do it.
00:03:01.320 So when we contacted Texas, they said they didn't see any reason why not.
00:03:09.120 But we would have to, you know, work on it and figure out from then if I was even a possible candidate.
00:03:16.780 So that's what the stage where we're at now.
00:03:20.240 They've already told us how much it would cost for the testing to get done to see if I was still healthy enough,
00:03:27.040 my organs were healthy enough to even get on the donor list.
00:03:31.020 So I sent all the medical records down to them, and that's what they're reviewing now.
00:03:40.580 They also created a file for me, of course, at the hospital.
00:03:44.900 I also was speaking to a doctor yesterday on Zoom from the Texas hospital, and they have a board meeting on Thursdays.
00:03:58.540 So on Thursday tomorrow, they will present my case in front of the board, and we're going to go from there.
00:04:06.760 And depending on what the board says tomorrow, with the information that they have, depending on the next steps.
00:04:20.480 Okay, so it sounds like Thursday will be a pretty big day for you in terms of getting that answer.
00:04:25.440 Meanwhile, they're also reviewing your documents.
00:04:27.340 We know that currently you're in the process of fundraising $100,000 USD to get that first step of testing that you need.
00:04:34.260 When we spoke on the phone, you said you had received testing when you were in Canada,
00:04:38.640 but they stopped testing you about two years ago when you refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
00:04:44.900 We're looking at the fundraiser now.
00:04:46.720 It's at about $87,000 just over as of Wednesday morning when we're filming,
00:04:51.240 and it's been climbing pretty steadily over the past week from what I can tell.
00:04:54.980 So I feel fairly confident that you'll have that first $100,000 that you need for testing pretty soon.
00:04:59.900 Once you have that money, are you able to begin testing in the States right away,
00:05:05.080 or do they still have to kind of continue looking through your documents,
00:05:08.180 and is there going to be more of a wait period?
00:05:11.580 Well, we don't know that answer at all.
00:05:14.360 It all depends on what the board is going to say.
00:05:16.880 They could, like they told me, they could come back with the dates fairly quickly
00:05:20.900 because of the progression of my disease, of course.
00:05:25.400 So it all depends on what the board is going to say.
00:05:29.540 They are a smaller hospital than what we'd like because being a smaller hospital,
00:05:38.440 they do less transplants, of course.
00:05:42.200 So like he said, depending on what we're looking for and what we want,
00:05:48.220 if we went with a bigger hospital, we would have, you know,
00:05:53.560 they would have more transplants a year.
00:05:57.580 So there's a lot to take in to consider.
00:06:00.420 It's not just jump on the bandwagon on the first one.
00:06:04.220 So, but at least we're getting somewhere with it at least.
00:06:09.860 And they do give us positive reviews, of course.
00:06:13.080 So we just have to wait and see.
00:06:17.040 It's a waiting game, right?
00:06:18.840 For sure.
00:06:19.480 And you've just mentioned that you're waiting to hear from the hospital.
00:06:22.660 They could give you a date fairly quickly.
00:06:24.800 Does that mean that you feel fairly confident that they will approve your case?
00:06:29.100 I'm not going to feel comfortable with anything until I'm there.
00:06:32.820 When I'm there, I'm going to be confident.
00:06:34.760 But I feel really good.
00:06:36.040 I really do about this.
00:06:37.420 But the old saying goes, you know, nothing is hatched until you crack the egg.
00:06:45.880 So I don't want to count my chickens before they're hatched.
00:06:50.500 I've done that in Canada.
00:06:52.780 And look where it got me.
00:06:54.220 I was really pumped.
00:06:55.520 They put me on the transplant list, on the donor list, excuse me.
00:06:59.200 They put me on the donor list.
00:07:00.900 They said I was ready.
00:07:02.460 I had a very, very healthy body.
00:07:04.180 You know, and look where that got me.
00:07:08.420 And I was pumped to go.
00:07:09.720 I did all the physio for it.
00:07:12.400 I did everything they asked me to do, everything.
00:07:15.180 The only thing I didn't was the experimental vaccine.
00:07:20.220 So just because somebody tells you something doesn't mean it's actually going to happen, I guess.
00:07:27.080 Canada proved that, and which is sad because Canada is our country.
00:07:33.960 And who better to believe than our own doctors, our own governments?
00:07:44.720 When we talk about this sort of uphill battle and you not wanting to be certain of something before you're actually there,
00:07:52.620 obviously you have a very significant amount of money that you need to fundraise.
00:07:56.380 I mentioned that initial $100,000 for testing.
00:07:59.600 But afterwards, I believe it's another half a million that you need to fundraise for the actual transplant itself.
00:08:05.460 And that's, of course, in American dollars.
00:08:07.480 So a very, very significant amount of money in Canadian dollars.
00:08:11.120 It seems like people have been very supportive and very receptive to donating to your cause so far.
00:08:16.740 The cause are amazing.
00:08:18.020 Amazing.
00:08:18.420 Like they really are, Canadians are really, really, really coming through.
00:08:21.840 And we're also getting donations from the United States as well.
00:08:26.020 So it's amazing, the movement is.
00:08:30.620 I never, ever, ever dreamed we would even get to where we are today.
00:08:35.040 I really didn't.
00:08:37.780 Canadians are really, really coming through.
00:08:39.680 And it's, sometimes it's like it's powerful, it's overwhelming.
00:08:45.540 And I sit back sometimes and it really touches the heart.
00:08:52.520 It really does.
00:08:53.940 Because Canadians are very caring and giving.
00:08:59.280 And they're just overall great people.
00:09:06.700 And you can't thank them enough.
00:09:08.300 There's just no possible way you could ever thank them enough for what they're doing.
00:09:12.660 And my hope for this transplant, and my hope was to get a policy overturned.
00:09:25.860 And that's what was the purpose of the courts, was to overturn the policy.
00:09:31.440 So many more Canadians would be able to get the transplant that I hoped I would be able to get.
00:09:38.400 And it wasn't just about me, and it's still not about me.
00:09:42.540 It's about all Canadians.
00:09:44.180 And all Canadians are suffering the same way I am.
00:09:48.260 And we can't overlook that.
00:09:52.100 It's not just about one person, right?
00:09:55.620 But they're forcing a hand where they're making it just one person.
00:10:03.280 Because I'm not winning.
00:10:06.440 And that's the problem with the courts.
00:10:10.120 I'm not winning it.
00:10:11.340 The question is why?
00:10:13.640 And I have natural immunity in very high levels of it.
00:10:18.060 More so than most people, they say.
00:10:20.760 And to require still a booster, like they're saying.
00:10:25.440 Why am I still required to get a booster when I have natural immunity?
00:10:30.260 It doesn't make sense.
00:10:32.500 None of it makes sense.
00:10:34.960 Especially with all the data out.
00:10:37.360 You know, Rachel?
00:10:38.580 I mean, I'm sure I'm not the only person that knows everything that's going on with this vaccine.
00:10:45.040 It's too much information out now.
00:10:47.260 Way too much.
00:10:48.520 A lot of people are injured.
00:10:51.100 A lot of people have passed away.
00:10:52.720 A lot of families were affected.
00:10:55.340 How many families do they got to destroy before somebody steps up and stops us?
00:11:08.000 Canada is in a sad place right now.
00:11:10.400 Another question that I had about your case is that, you know, the organ that you actually need,
00:11:17.820 as well as the names of the doctors that you were working with here in Alberta,
00:11:21.620 as well as the hospital that you were working with, all of that is under a publication ban.
00:11:26.660 The court really sought to protect those doctors for the decision that they made in denying you this organ transplant.
00:11:32.500 Has that been difficult for you to process?
00:11:34.980 Has it been difficult to explain to people exactly what's going on when there's so much that news outlets can't cover?
00:11:41.980 Of course it is, because it's really sad.
00:11:44.720 I mean, it wasn't enough that they come back and they said they had a policy.
00:11:51.540 They didn't have a policy when they made this.
00:11:55.900 They sat around a table.
00:11:57.540 It was said right to me.
00:11:58.480 I have it on record.
00:12:00.480 They said, the doctor had said to me on the phone, on the Zoom, that we have to make a decision.
00:12:06.780 We have to sit down as a team and we have to go over whether we're going to ask or make people that need transplants,
00:12:16.200 a life-saving transplant, to get the vaccine.
00:12:19.280 So in a couple weeks after that, they got back to me and they said, we made a decision.
00:12:25.440 They made a decision.
00:12:26.740 They didn't have a policy.
00:12:28.240 So when I forced their hand and I asked them for the policy, a copy of it, they refused it.
00:12:34.440 Then I wrote them a letter in November and I said, there's not a policy.
00:12:40.540 It is recommended.
00:12:43.700 It's strongly recommended that I get the vaccine.
00:12:47.640 But it wasn't policy.
00:12:50.740 And that was in November of 2021.
00:12:53.840 So what happened?
00:12:55.940 Bang.
00:12:57.160 All of a sudden, there was a policy.
00:12:59.920 They come up with a policy.
00:13:02.420 But when they first told me they made the decision, it was in March.
00:13:06.120 But in November of the same year, they finally got a policy because I was asking to see a copy of it.
00:13:14.820 So it's sad that the courts put the gag order on me, which they wanted, the doctors wanted, and asked for,
00:13:22.100 because it was to silence me.
00:13:26.380 But look at it the other way.
00:13:28.240 If they were speaking the truth about everything, which I know now they weren't, through testimony and what was ignored in the courts,
00:13:42.040 it's really sad that they had to put a publication ban on me or a gag order, whatever we want to call it.
00:13:49.340 But if they were speaking the truth, what did they have to worry about?
00:13:52.680 Well, I have to say that their attempts to silence you certainly have not been successful.
00:14:00.620 That kind of brings me to my last question here.
00:14:02.560 Something that I've been so struck by in this story, and I know that has really resonated with my audience as well,
00:14:08.540 is your resilience, your ability to continue pushing through this and to fight for what you know is right,
00:14:15.760 despite really being up against all odds.
00:14:18.460 Maybe you could speak to that a little bit.
00:14:20.020 Have you found this difficult?
00:14:21.580 Have you wanted to really just give up at any points?
00:14:24.700 And what has kept you pushing through?
00:14:28.660 There's lots of times.
00:14:30.920 There really is.
00:14:31.880 There's lots of times that, you know, I'm sitting here, and I'm thinking, and it's quiet, and I'm by myself.
00:14:38.180 You know, it's late at night, and I can't sleep for one reason or another.
00:14:45.340 And, yeah, I think about just, that's it.
00:14:48.740 Nothing's enough.
00:14:50.320 But what's that going to do?
00:14:52.860 It's not going to get me nowhere, and it's not going to get anybody else anywhere.
00:14:56.480 But at the same time, the truth needs to come out.
00:14:59.960 And if I just stop at all, which they want me to, these doctors, they want me to go away.
00:15:08.980 Like they used to ask me in the Zoom calls at the end, they would say when they called,
00:15:14.000 oh, you're still hanging in, I see, because I answered the phone.
00:15:18.560 It's like, yeah, I'm still hanging in.
00:15:20.400 But they want me to go away.
00:15:22.740 They want to silence me.
00:15:24.280 And, you know, it ain't going to happen.
00:15:28.100 So I will fight as long as I can and do what I can to fight for myself and the rest of Canada,
00:15:38.920 for the other people that need these surgeries as well.
00:15:42.140 But, yes, there's times it gets tough, like really tough, especially when it's hard to breathe.
00:15:51.340 And there's a lot of times when I exert myself, when I get up to do something, even with the third machine.
00:16:01.560 It's tough.
00:16:04.960 It's tough to keep going sometimes.
00:16:08.060 But I have to.
00:16:09.780 I have to keep fighting.
00:16:12.740 I never was one to give up before, so I ain't going to start now.
00:16:17.240 Well, Sheila, thank you so much for coming on today and sharing a little bit of your story and your journey with us.
00:16:25.780 I know that me and my viewers, we are behind you 100%.
00:16:28.660 And I know a lot of people were really excited to be able to support your fundraiser.
00:16:32.980 And we will continue to follow your story with interest.
00:16:36.180 And you'll just be in our prayers and we are rooting for you 100%.
00:16:39.600 So thank you so much for coming on.
00:16:40.820 Do you have the fundraiser?
00:16:42.040 Do you have the fundraiser website?
00:16:44.500 Yes, we have the fundraiser website and it's been linked in my previous shows and we'll link it in this episode below as well.
00:16:51.940 Okay, great.
00:16:52.980 Okay, then, Rachel, thank you very much for having me on your show today.
00:16:56.380 I appreciate it.
00:16:57.760 And thank you to everyone that is helping with this movement and sending prayers and, you know, have support for me and inboxing me.
00:17:08.300 I get a lot of them and I try to, I try to do as many as I can every day, but, but thank you for your support, Rachel.
00:17:18.420 You're most welcome.
00:17:19.640 Okay, we'll chat with you soon.
00:17:21.200 Okay, chat soon.
00:17:22.420 Take care.
00:17:23.580 Okay, guys, thank you so much for joining me on this special episode of the Alberta Roundup.
00:17:27.400 It was so touching to hear from Ms. Lewis and to hear a little bit about her story and hopefully we can have her on again for another positive update in a couple weeks or months.
00:17:36.640 For those of you who want to go find the GoFundMe page right now, you can find that at givesengo.com slash g-a-m-m-5.
00:17:45.080 Again, that's givesengo.com slash g-a-m-m-5.
00:17:49.180 Okay, guys, I will see you on Saturday for our usual episode of the Alberta Roundup.
00:17:53.360 Enjoy the rest of your week.
00:17:57.400 Thank you.