ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — An Inuk activist from Labrador whose struggle with acute liver failure sparked a national discussion about an Ontario transplant policy is being released from hospital in what her friends and family are calling a "Christmas miracle.''
Twenty-five-year-old Delilah Saunders has been discharged from Toronto General Hospital's transplant unit and is returning to Newfoundland to recover.
Saunders says she has made a "miraculous'' turnaround since being diagnosed with acute liver failure about two weeks ago, and doctors say it doesn't look like she'll need a transplant in the immediate future.
She says she was initially told she was ineligible for an Ontario waiting list because she had not abstained from alcohol for a minimum of six months, but she believes her condition was triggered by a buildup of Tylenol she was taking for jaw pain.
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Saunders, who is a prominent activist for Aboriginal women, says she plans to advocate on behalf of other patients who are denied potentially life-saving treatment because of the alcohol-use policy.
Transplant doctors have cited evidence that some alcoholics return to drinking after a transplant of the organ, and the transplant may not succeed as a result.
She says she has been awestruck by the outpouring of support for her case, and her first-hand experience navigating the health system will fuel her campaign to increase access to medical care for Indigenous Peoples and others.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated that Delilah Saunders is 26. She is actually 25.
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