Me and Danny Williams

Meanwhile ...

While all of the waiting was going on ... waiting to go from the GP to the Internist, from the Internist to the Cardiologist, from the Cardiologist to the Cardiac Surgeon ... there was a story in the news I followed with interest because it was also about mitral valve repair.

In late February, it came out that Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, had a mitral valve repair at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Florida earlier in the month. There was a fair amount of discussion about his actions and whether or not this indicated a rejection for the Canadian medical system, a 'rat jumping ship', or merely a choice made by someone who was in a position to advantage of an available option.

In typical feisty fashion, Williams responded to critics of his decision by saying: "It's my heart, it's my health, and it's my choice." His actions generated quite a bit of press which I followed with interest since, of course, my mitral valve was in the same (or very similar) condition as his had been. I knew, however, that I'd not be going to Florida for my repair, but to Calgary. Did this mean I was condemned to have poorer quality work done? Was the Canadian medical system letting me down?

Andre Picard, columnist with the Globe and Mail had an interesting and well-written take on the issue: "Williams's heart surgery choice was based on ignorance." Picard's point was that "Had Mr. Williams asked his questions of the right people, he would have learned what procedures are offered in Canada, and that cardiovascular outcomes in this country are as good as in the U.S., and often better." Picard concludes: "Mr. Williams’s sin was not in going to the U.S. for surgery, it was in acting on partial information, uttering untruths about the availability of care, and smearing – however inadvertently – Canada’s health system in the process."

At the time I wasn't sure what I thought. Now, after I've been through the process, I do have some ideas.

First, I feel confident that I obtained the best possible care for my condition, and, although I might have experienced a different kind of procedure with a different surgeon in a different location, I couldn't have expected anything better than what I received. It was state of the art work with a proven and experience surgeon who performed a challenging surgery with minimal risk to me.

Second, Mr. Williams' point about "my heart, my health, my choice" assumes a particular view of humanity and human liberty. It is one that is primarily individualistic. And although I wish for people to have as many freedoms as they can, I think Mr. Williams' statement betrays a view of humanity that is flawed.

First, Mr. Williams' heart is not only his individual and personal heart, but it is also a human heart. His heart is the very same as mine. It has the exactly same kind of mitral valve that my heart has. His was leaking just like mine was. His heart was broken in the same way mine was. There is a universality, then, to the human heart. A heart is, in effect, our heart ... not just my individual heart.

Thanks to this universal quality, heart research and heart surgery is not individualistic. The knowledge, treatment, and techniques applied to one heart are applied equally to another. It cannot be, then, just "my heart, my health, my choice."

Second, Mr. Williams' heart is not just his individual heart, it is also a Canadian heart. Mr. Williams had access to the same health care system as all Canadians. It doesn't matter whether you're Danny the Premier of Newfoundland Labrador or Dave from Canmore or Bruce from Lethbridge, you will be accepted into a system which will not discriminate or even care about who you are. It will simply try to provide the best health care for your needs.

This doesn't mean that there aren't problems with the system which need to be addressed and changes that need to be made. But this is normal for any developing and improving human system.

To be sure, Mr. Williams' heart is a Williams heart, not a MacKay heart, a male heart, not a female heart, a Newfoundland heart, not an Alberta heart. So, Mr. Williams, yes you are an individual, but you are also a human being and a Canadian. "My heart, my health, my choice" express facets of your individuality admirably (in classic American-style terms). But sadly it diminishes other facets and it ignores a crucial universal aspect of our common humanity and the critical feature of equality that derives from that universality. Your view describes a diminished and impoverished vision of humanity that is disappointing, though not uncommon.

Either way, I guess, we both have had our mitral valves repaired. I suspect that my repair is just as good as yours. One thing's for sure; my repair did not cost me near as much as yours did you.