Roger Foley is trying to get someone to listen. The Canadian man who was born with a neurodegenerative disease has become known over the years as a permanent patient in a hospital in London, Ontario, caught in a battle for what should and should not be offered to him in terms of help.
Foley made headlines in 2018 after releasing recordings of hospital staff asking him about assisted euthanasia, which is legal in Canada, as an option for him.
Highlights
- Roger Foley, the Canadian with a neurodegenerative disease, has been in a hospital for 9 years
- He has been routinely denied ‘self-directed funding’ that would allow him to choose home health care workers
- Previous home care workers had damaged his house, and caused him food poisoning, Foley says
At the time, Foley had been hospitalized for two years due to the worsening of his condition, cerebellar ataxia, a brain disorder that causes visual deterioration, and limits his ability to move his arms and legs, which prevents him from doing everyday tasks like feeding himself and going to the bathroom.
Most recently, Foley says the hospital removed the special lightbulbs in his room that allowed him to function with the help of a pulley system, and swapped them for harsh blue-wave lights which cause severe pain.
Now, as his condition worsens, and he is hooked up to an IV for nutrients, he is again reaching out to the media to help tell his story.
Roger Foley was hospitalized when his home care became insufficient
Image credits: Help Roger Foley / givesendgo
It all started in 2016. That’s when Foley was hospitalized for the first time. Prior to that, he had been living alone, with the help of home care workers.
But Foley tells Bored Panda, due to structural changes in the country’s home health care service program, the help he was given was insufficient, resulting in cases of food poisoning, mismanaged medication schedules, messes and damage to his house, and workers who were not knowledgeable or even able to perform the kinds of help he required.
Image credits: Assisted Life / YouTube
Image credits: rogerfoley
As a result, Foley sought medical care in a hospital setting.
And so he was admitted to Victoria Hospital at the London Health Services Center in London, Ontario, in Canada.
But soon enough, Foley says, his care in the hospital also began to deteriorate, and now after being in the hospital for more than nine years, things are worse than ever.
“I will not answer their questions”: Foley says staff are talking to him about medically-assisted passing as an option
Image credits: rogerfoley / X
Image credits: rogerfoley
Foley explained to Bored Panda that one of the most emotionally upsetting aspects of his hospitalization is what he’s calling forced discussions about assisted euthenasia.
In Canada, Medical Assistance in D*ing or MAiD, is a legal process performed by a qualified medical practitioner “to provide a person with assistance to end their life, provided they meet specific eligibility criteria.”
The procedure became legal in 2016 and has been a hot button issue in the country ever since.
Image credits: rogerfoley / X
Foley says in multiple instances, members of the hospital staff explained the process to him, as an alternative to staying in the hospital.
Over the years, Foley has shared audio clips of staff asking him about MAiD to various news organizations. And, Foley says, the discussions haven’t stopped:
“In the last six months, the hospital has made many attempts to re engage their old s**cide questioning of me that lead to assisted s**cide. I will not answer their questions and tell them not to ask me,” Foley told Bored Panda.
“He is an extreme bed-blocker”: The hospital’s side of the story
Image credits: London Health Sciences Centre
The hospital has not spoken on the record about Foley’s case due to doctor-patient confidentiality rules. Foley has said that one of his doctors, Dr. Dulay is “very hostile to me. He has always been a Jeckel and Hyde personality, sometimes supportive, other times ruthless and abusive.”
Local newspaper, the London Free Press, describes Foley's case as: "Staying put in a hospital he admits he doesn't need, in a standoff over his care wants, Roger Foley is an extreme example of a bed-blocker."
In an article, they say Foley is considered by medical staff as an extreme ‘alternate level of care’ , or ALC, patient. The article says ALC patients are those “who no longer require hospital-grade medical care, but remain in a hospital bed while waiting for long-term care or home care placement. Such bed-blocking patients accounted for 17 percent of all acute care bed days in Canada as recently as 2022-23.”
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Foley has so far blocked efforts to be moved into a long term care facility. His main goal is getting home treatment again, but this time with the staff of his choosing.
Foley believes funding for such services could be paid for by so-called ‘self-directed’ funding in which the patient gets to choose which staff assist at home, essentially choosing how to spend state funds.
According to the article, self-directed funding is available in “rare circumstances,” including for children with complex medical needs and adults with acquired brain injuries.
Perhaps because Foley’s brain disease is genetic or congenital and not ‘acquired,’ he has continued to be denied self-directed funding.
“How is this not state-sanctioned euthanasia?” UN report says Canada can do better
Image credits: AssistedLife / Facebook
Foley has been fighting, literally for his life, to qualify for self-directed funding, to no avail. In 2018 he filed a $20 million lawsuit against various health institutions and government entities in the country for mistreatment by medical practitioners, discrimination by health agencies, and for unconstitutional provisions regarding MAiD.
But in late 2023, his case was struck down. The attorney general called his claim ‘inflammatory,’ and he was granted a grace period to pay his more than $100,000 in legal fees by a certain date. As he was not able to pay, the entire case was dismissed. Foley says his case is currently in the appeals court.
Image credits: Assisted Life / YouTube
But outside of Foley’s case, Canada’s treatment of disabled persons was the topic of an incriminating investigation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that was released in March this year. “It's alarming that persons with disabilities sought access to medical assistance in d*ing due to unmet needs, which was a systemic failure of the State party,” it said in part.
The report explained that for some people, poverty and lack of access to services have underpinned their so-called ‘choice’ for MAiD. “How is this not State-sanctioned euthanasia?” the report questioned.
“Just wheel him home”: Some netizens in Ontario think Foley is getting special treatment
Comments on Foley’s case have been wide ranging, with some people who live in Canada calling foul on Foley and the country’s imperfect health care services.
Many had stories of their own, and were angered at the lack of fairness: “This dude has been there almost 9 years, meanwhile, when my dad had hip surgery and still could not walk they basically told him he had been there 7 days and that's all they offer. This needs to be fixed. Just wheel him home.”
Some people accused Foley of being selfish, or worse. “I mean, he gets food at the hospital, what more does he need,” one person said.
Image credits: Assisted Life / YouTube
Another commented on his assisted living apartment, which Foley still rents although he has not been living in it for nine years: “So in addition to using a much-needed hospital bed, he's also using a much-needed social assistance apartment. This guy is a stand-up citizen. Wow,” one person said.
Another said: “Damn, people need those beds. What a selfish a**hole.”
People living elsewhere, though, seemed to be supportive.
“That poor man deserves to be treated with compassion and empathy, not made to feel like he’s a burden. His caregivers need to walk in his shoes for a day, see how they feel then,” one person said.
Image credits: Amanda Achtman / YouTube
Another said: “Horrible that someone would suggest taking your own life, that’s so evil.”
“Poor poor Man..I feel for him. So young too.”
Others noted his seemingly futile efforts thus far: “He’s been quite relentless in his advocacy. I can only imagine how scary it must be for him considering he’s trapped in the hospital.”
Netizens react with a mix of outrage and annoyance about Roger Foley's nine-year hospitalization
