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A London, Ont., father has begun a six-week walk to Queen’s Park in Toronto, pushing his daughter’s empty wheelchair 200 kilometres to advocate for easier access to out-of-country health care.
Joe Gesualdi set out Tuesday morning from his home in south London, pushing the wheelchair to Victoria Park, the first four kilometres of a journey he hopes will draw the attention of politicians and the public to his daughter Sydney’s struggle to access treatment.
Sydney Gesualdi was 24 when she was rear-ended at a red light in July 2023. She was initially diagnosed with whiplash and soft-tissue injuries, but in the weeks that followed, she lost the ability to walk, began struggling to breathe and experienced numbness in her face and limbs.
Now 27, she is seeking surgery in New York that she says could improve her condition, but the family says it cannot afford the cost.
Joe Gesualdi started his Miles4AMiracle walk Tuesday morning, pushing his daughter Sydney’s empty wheelchair from his home in south London to Victoria Park downtown. It’s the first few kilometres of what will be a 200-kilometre walk to Queens Park in Toronto, where the father will share his daughter’s story and advocate for easier access to out-of-country health care. He tells CBC News what’s at stake and why he’s up for the challenge.
“This wheelchair of Sydney’s represents everything that has been taken away from her young life,” Joe Gesualdi explained.
“It’s out of desperation that I made the decision to walk her wheelchair 200 kilometres as a symbol of my commitment to Sydney, my love for her and to regain the possibility she will have a normal life again.
“I can’t give up on Sydney, and I’m hoping that this change comes.”
Sydney has been diagnosed with cranio-cervical instability, a condition involving excessive movement between the skull and the top two vertebrae in the neck. She says her symptoms have worsened over the past year and now include memory loss, choking and slurred speech.
“I’m essentially housebound. I spend 80 per cent of the day horizontal or sitting in bed,” she said. “I only really am able to leave my house for necessary medical appointments, so my life has become very small.”
“I am just continuing to deteriorate without care and my symptoms are becoming more and more concerning as each week and month passes,” she said.
“I’m just scared and I don’t want to die.”
Last year, Sydney told CBC News about her struggle to receive a spinal assessment. She was referred to eight doctors at spinal clinics across the province but had been denied consultations, with centres at the time citing wait times and heavy caseloads as reasons for not taking a patient.
The family eventually consulted a neurosurgeon in New York, who recommended surgery costing more than $49,000 CAD.
The Ontario Ministry of Health denied Sydney’s application for full funding through its Out-of-Country Health Services program, leaving the family to raise the money themselves.
“Sydney’s condition has deteriorated, and if we wait too long, she may not benefit from the surgery,” Joe Gesualdi said. “I can’t wait any longer for the process to play out.”
Advocacy along the way
As he makes his way to Toronto, Gesualdi is handing out flyers explaining Sydney’s story, encouraging donations toward the surgery and raising awareness about the challenges some Ontarians face when seeking medical treatment outside Canada.
He said he hopes the walk will also capture the attention of Premier Doug Ford, the Ministry of Health and other decision-makers.
“The more people that understand what’s going on and they connect that to their own family stories is going to help advance the ball and bring meaningful change,” he said.
Sydney said she’s appreciative of her dad going on the walk, as well as her mom’s help planning the route.
“I feel very lucky, but at the same time, it’s almost a mixed bag of emotions because I feel sad that it’s come to this point where my dad has to do this for me to access medical care that with hopefully have a very positive outcome,” she said.
Joe Gesualdi said he expects the walk to be challenging, but it doesn’t live up to what his daughter faces daily.
“I am going to walk every single mile, every kilometre. There’s not going to be any shortcuts,” he said.
“Yes, it’s going to be a long walk but the reality is that with Sydney’s need for care, that never takes a break.”
