Payback time for a teen who raised money for others’ medical needs

A British Columbia teen who has raised thousands of dollars for children’s medical charities is finding it difficult to get the money to come to Minnesota for treatment of her own health problems.

Jeneece Edroff, shown above in a 2008 story, is 18 now and has tumors that are causing her spine to deteriorate. The surgery recommended for her in Canada could result in paralysis. She wants a second opinion about an experimental treatment that’s available at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

“It will be way better for me to go there because they know these tumours, they know this condition,” she told CTV.

But she’s stuck in red tape; this is Canada’s health care system. She can’t get the first operation until more tests are done. And she can’t get a second opinion, she says, because British Columbia has a policy of not paying for out-of-province surgeries or second opinions that are available at home.