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 Cassandra Genovy. (Chris Doucette, QMI Agency file photo) |
TORONTO - After more than a year of crying out for help, Cassandra Genovy has finally given up on finding it in Ontario.
But that doesn't mean the severely depressed Oakville teen -- who suffers from bulimia and has been hospitalized several times in recent months because of her suicidal tendencies -- has given up on life.
Even if she wanted to, her mom, Joanne, wouldn't allow it.
After exhausting all options within the province, the frustrated mother and daughter are now looking south to the U.S., hoping a place called Remuda Ranch will be able to provide the live-saving inpatient treatment Cassandra needs.
"As soon as we get approval from the Ontario government, she'll be on her way," Joanne said, adding she's hoping to make it happen within the next two weeks.
But she and Cassandra have been let down so many times that they remain guardedly optimistic.
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"I don't want to get my hopes up, because everything we've tried so far has fallen through on us," the distraught mom said.
Joanne feels as though she has been getting the runaround from an assortment of programs and treatment centres, including one in Guelph.
"From the beginning, it's been excuse after excuse," Joanne said. "If you don't want her to come there, then just tell us."
She went through the trouble of contacting her insurance company to find whether it would cover the $10,000 or so a month it would cost to send Cassandra to Homewood Health Centre.
But Joanne says she was told Cassandra had to be off drugs, had to stop cutting herself and get treatment for her depression before they'd admit her for the eating disorder.
"What's next, are they going to tell her she needs to cure her bulimia as well?" Joanne says. "By the time she's done all of this, she won't need to go there."
Since going public with their story, Cassandra and her mom feel like they finally have some people in their corner -- mainly Joanne's family doctor and their local MPP, Kevin Flynn, who also happens to be the chairman of a select committee on mental health and addictions.
"Our system has fallen behind and we need to bring it up to speed," Flynn said, adding OHIP should cover Cassandra's treatment if they can prove it's needed and unavailable here.
Remuda Ranch, about 100 km outside of Phoenix and about 3,600 km from Oakville, can meet all of her demands.