'We're just at a loss': Sask. family struggling to pay for specialist pediatric care out of province

A Saskatoon family is concerned about the health of their son nearly a year after Saskatchewan’s only pediatric gastroenterologist (GI) left the province.

A Saskatoon family is concerned about the health of their son nearly a year after Saskatchewan’s only pediatric gastroenterologist (GI) left the province.

Zach Engen, 15, was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in October 2020, when he was 11-years-old.

EoE is a rare condition involving the esophagus becoming inflamed and narrow. Because of this, Engen wears a feeding tube and can't eat solid foods.

And for nearly a year, he’s had to go out of province for treatment.

"He's at high risk of developing esophagus cancer. And he's only 15, going to be 16 here this month, actually. It's causing a lot of emotional drain on his body because he's also autistic. So he doesn't understand why he has to be like this," said Alyssa Weber, Engen's mom.

Dr. Simone Nicol closed her practice last May, and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has been unable to fill that position, or any additional pediatric GI doctor slots.

With no doctor to see, Weber and her son flew to Toronto last month to see a specialist to check on his condition. Now the duo is preparing for another trip next month, checking to see if surgery is an option after discovering of Engen's stomach is inside his esophagus