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The Suburban, Wednesday, January 17, 2001 |
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Hearing-impaired youth counting on PQ race |
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By Joel Goldenberg |
Quebec's health insurance board claims Ryan is too old. |
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Will the contest for a Parti Québécois president help nine-year-old Ryan Duchoeny hear for the first time? For months. Ryan's father Frank has been
calling on the province to pay the $30.000 or $35.000 needed for a cochlear implant
that would improve his son's hearing by 35 to 40 per cent. But both the Quebec health ministry and
Quebec's health insurance hoard have refused, claiming Ryan is too old for
the treatment to have maximum effect and that he is proficient in sign
language. The story of Ryan's plight ran in The
Suburban a month ago. But it became a political issue only after Frank
Duchoeny heard that the ministry had approved a breast implant for a 15-year-old
for psychological reasons. Furious, Duchoeny called CJAD, The Gazette
ran the breasts-vs. implant story on front page and suddenly the French
media were interested. La Presse and Le Journal both gave the
story prominent play, as did local French and English television. Picked up
by the wire services, the story ran across Canada and in both national dailies. And that was before Dr. Laura Schlessinger ridiculed
Quebec's decision on her nationally syndicated radio show. "I fell that we put so much pressure on
them, that they were going to probably reconsider and change their minds,
quietly," said Duchoeny. "It was a gut feeling I, and a couple of
people I spoke to, had." |
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Duchoeny is wondering how
Premier Lucien Bouchard's resignation will affect
the case. "Now media attention has
moved away from this whole story," Duchoeny said. "It might be good
in a way. Medicare might want to resolve this quietly." In the meantime. Duchoeny is
putting together a campaign with the help of the Jewish Community Foundation
to raise the needed funds, so that the cochlear implant can he performed in
nearby Burlington. Vermont for $40.000 U.S. For more information, contact Frank Duchoeny
at |
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