'Totally wrong': Winnipeg man says landlord denied life-changing medical equipment
CTV
A Winnipeg man is raising a red flag after his landlord said no to health-care equipment that could change his life – a problem he believes is a human rights issue.
A Winnipeg man is raising a red flag after his landlord said no to health-care equipment that could change his life – a problem he believes is a human rights issue.
Alan MacKay, 77, lives with type two diabetes and kidney function loss. It's a condition that requires him to go to the hospital for dialysis four times a week.
"It's my life. If I don't have this dialysis machine hooked up to me, I'm dead," he said.
MacKay said the whole process of travelling to the hospital for dialysis takes about eight hours, but he could get a huge portion of his life back with an at-home dialysis machine in his apartment.
The cost would be covered by Shared Health through the Manitoba Renal Program. The program's website notes it would return the rental unit to its original state, excluding paint, if the patient moves or ends the dialysis treatment.
"This is all being denied to me because the answer from the property manager is no," MacKay said, adding he was told he isn't able to get the at-home machine because his landlord denied the request.
The building's property manager Ryan Cerezo told CTV News in an email that he was informed the machine would require modifications to the cabinets, plumbing and electrical.