Kind stranger buys air ticket for Yukon senior who needs cataract surgery

A Watson Lake, Yukon, senior will make her appointment next week for cataract surgery in Whitehorse, thanks to a kind stranger.

73-year-old Isabel Welsh is scheduled for a pre-op appointment on Tuesday, with the operation the next day. 

She doesn't drive, and since the Greyhound bus service stopped service in the community, Welsh asked the Yukon government's medical travel branch if it would pay for a ticket on Alkan Air's Monday flight to Whitehorse.

It refused.

Welsh said buying a $340 ticket herself would be a hardship, since she's a pensioner.

"I could get a big sign saying: 'going to Whitehorse,' go sit on the side of the highway, and hitchhike," she said.

Welsh said she does have a ride back to Watson Lake after her operation.

She feared that if she postponed the surgery, she would be waiting at least another year for the operation — something she was not willing to do.

"I don't want to go blind," she said.

Offers of help

After her story aired on CBC Radio Friday morning, listeners began calling the newsroom with offers to help Welsh.

Another person simply phoned Alkan Air at 8 a.m. and purchased a ticket — anonymously — for the senior. The airline has confirmed that Welsh does now have a ticket.

"It looks like I'm going to be on the plane on Monday and get the surgery done, yes — for which I'm truly grateful," Welsh said.

"I'm very grateful for people who wanted to reach out and help. I may not know who they are, but I certainly thank them for their generosity."

Welsh worries though about other people in Watson Lake — and other rural communities — who need to get into Whitehorse for medical appointments and procedures.

"My concern is that it's not just for me ... We don't have proper transportation for people who cannot drive or do not have a vehicle," she said.

Government reverses decision

The Department of Health and Social Services did not return calls from CBC on Thursday, but late Friday morning, a spokesperson called to say the director of Insured Health Services had reversed the decision in Welsh's case, and that the government would pay for her ticket.

"Only the director has the legislative discretion to approve a request where there's demonstrated medical need and to reverse a decision that's been made," said spokesperson Pat Living.

She says the decision takes into account the reduced service to Watson Lake. But she could not explain how the decision was made in the first place.

"I'm not sure whether it's solely the responsibility of Health," Living said. "We're talking about medical travel, yes, but travel between communities is not the responsibility of Health and Social Services."

Living said now, though, the department will cover the cost of airfare within the territory, "where there is scheduled flights, and where it's medically necessary."