But the milestone for Sabrina Payne was the six-hour return trip from Fogo Island, NL, to Gander, which took her every two weeks. This involved a sometimes unpredictable and mostly inconvenient ferry crossing. “I remember crying in the car. I did not want to get out of the car to go on the ship,” he said. Fogo’s ferry crossings are already crowded with medical travelers, but with the lack of doctors across the province affecting this community, Payne’s story will become more common. In June, the last permanent doctor at Fogo Island Health Clinic leaves his office, which will send even more patients on board – and possibly, off-island.
Complex journeys
Payne said all of these trips had emotional and physical costs, exacerbating the pain of a cancer diagnosis.
“I remember when I came back from my double mastectomy in September, I just wanted to stay in the car. I had drainage pipes hanging everywhere, I did not feel well, I had only had the surgery two days before. I begged them to let me stay in my car and they did not allow them to do so. “
The trip became another unnecessary headache: in winter, you experienced bad weather and in summer, the rows of ferries became so large that you may have to wait all day to secure a place on a crossing.
Sabrina Payne, pictured with two of her children, was diagnosed with breast cancer almost two years ago. (Submitted by Sabrina Payne)
In January, pushing to its limits, Payne sold her home and business on Fogo Island and moved into a rented apartment in Gander to get closer to her treatments.
“It took me a long time to make the decision, because I really liked the place,” he said. “But in the end my mental health was declining because it was – it was all a chore.”
“I guess we have to get up and move”
Traveling for medical reasons is a fact for the inhabitants of the island of Fogo. While the island’s health clinic offers laboratory and x-rays, most specialist appointments are off the island.
Maureen Lynch just started the journey herself, traveling to Gander for a physiotherapy appointment to work on her back. But due to the unpredictability of the ship, planning them is not an easy task.
Maureen Lynch lives in Island Harbor, one of the smallest communities on Fogo Island. (Garrett Barry / CBC)
“I try to schedule my appointments when the ship is – not a day of dangerous goods and on a day that makes a trip late, because sometimes you can meet late appointments,” he said.
In the current schedule, this is only Wednesday and Friday.
“And it’s not always easy to date when you want to,” Leeds said.
And even when you do, it is still a journey of an entire day. He said he usually wakes up at 4:30 p.m. on days when he has an appointment and usually does not return home until 9:30 p.m.
She said people in her community at Island Harbor are devastated that the island’s last doctor, who has been practicing at the local clinic for more than a decade, is leaving.
“They do not know where to turn,” he said. “Most people say, ‘Well, I guess we have to get up and move, we have to leave Fogo Island.’
Aaron Brown returned to Fogo Island in September to help care for his elderly grandparents.
Aaron Brown returned to Fogo Island in September to help care for his family. (Garrett Barry / CBC)
He said his grandfather, 79, partially paralyzed, struggled with an infection for much of the winter and needed six weeks in Grand Falls-Windsor.
“He spent all year out in the hallway, on a bed, and was eventually put in a family room for the rest of his stay,” he said. “I somehow knew that health care was collapsing then.”
The loss of the island’s only doctor means less support for him and raises many questions about his family’s future.
Brown says it is unrealistic to take his grandfather by ferry to Gander for medical visits unless they become absolutely urgent – and that means delaying appointments on issues that need to be addressed.
“At this point, I’m the last line of medical care, I guess.”
A gloomy landmark
Other communities in the province are also struggling to keep their clinics running, but Fogo residents say they are uniquely vulnerable.
“We realize that we are not alone, but we are unique, because we are in the middle of the North Atlantic,” said Liz Keefe, who has lived on Fogo Island for almost 40 years. “If we had an emergency voyage one night and the ice is in, the ship can not move.
“I do not know what the future will be, it will be sad. We need doctors, that’s the point.”
Liz Keefe has moved to Newfoundland and Labrador from Wales and has lived on Fogo Island for the past 40 years. (Garrett Barry / CBC)
The doctor is due to leave his post on June 19. Central Health says it is working with locums to provide coverage during the summer and will keep the community informed as their plans evolve.
Mayor Andrew Shea says this summer will be the first time since 1792 that the island has not had a doctor of any kind.
It’s the last blow to the community, which is also losing its only banking branch and some other businesses.
And it all happens against the backdrop of an explosive tourism industry. This left some people scratching their heads.
Canadian tourists visit an iceberg that landed on the island port of Fogo on New Earth in April. (Garrett Barry / CBC)
The world-famous Fogo Island Inn – a top choice for the rich and famous – costs at least $ 7,725 per stay ($ 2,575 per night for the cheapest room, with a minimum of three nights). These prices do not include taxes.
“This is a rising point,” Brown said.
“Unfortunately the residents leave as the tourists come.”
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
