Ontario family wins fight for treatment to stabilize child’s leg. They say it shouldn’t be this hard

globalnews.ca:

The family of 10-year-old Grace Anstey is breathing a sigh of relief after a year and a half fighting for their daughter to get the treatment she needs.

Global News first brought you the story of the then-nine-year-old in July when her parents reached out about their struggles to find a doctor for Grace’s knee surgery.

“We have mixed emotions currently of the whole process, but mainly a feeling of happiness and excitement that Grace will finally be able to get her day-to-day life back,” Grace’s dad, David Anstey, tells Global News.

After a cartwheel in May 2022, Grace, then aged eight, dislocated her knee, which doctors hoped would heal on its own but would soon become the new normal.

“We’re in the ballpark of eight to nine different dislocations over that time, which has rendered her non-weight-bearing and on crutches,” Anstey says.

Grace’s mom told Global in July that her daughter was paralyzed by fear, dislocating her knee from doing something as simple as walking up the stairs and leaving her in constant need of crutches.

After exploring alternative treatments, a doctor ultimately determined Grace needed surgery after she went to the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), which referred her to a specialist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Sunnybrook told Global News in July it did not have the ability to operate on a child under 12.

Now, months later, the family says thanks to the advocacy of a local doctor, surgery will happen this Thursday, with the family travelling from their home in Barrie to Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre for treatment.

“He made some personal attempts and phone calls to try to help us along and see the correct person, so if it wasn’t for him, we would still be stuck