Sathya Dhara Kovac: “It Was Not a Genetic Disease That Took Me Out, It Was a System”

Case reference: MAID-MB-2022-WKPM · Winnipeg, Manitoba · Died by MAID · Recorded by the register as a MAID victim

Who she was

Sathya Dhara Kovac was funny, warm and fiercely honest, and she wrote her own obituary to prove it. “I will keep this long,” it begins. She asked the people she loved to “pet a dog, do your healing work, be open to learning, look to the sky for the beauty and the medicine it can provide, be real and honest, treat each other well and smash the patriarchy HARD.” She told them: “When you are feeling sad please remember how funny I was.” She signed off with three words: “Do something nice.”

ALS ran in her family. It took her mother, Barbara, her grandmother Sophie and her uncle Billy. Sathya was diagnosed in 2006, and she credited her grandparents Jean and George Kovac with looking out for her. Her friend Janine LeGal wrote a tribute to her in the Winnipeg Free Press. “I tried my best,” Sathya wrote. “I’m still proud of myself for hanging in there.”

What happened

As her ALS progressed, Sathya needed help with every part of daily life: bathing, feeding, toileting, laundry. Manitoba paid her $2,359.77 every two weeks for self-managed home care, enough to cover the maximum allowed 55 hours a week. “This might seem like plenty of hours, but it is not when you are requiring personal care, bathing, feeding and food prep, laundry and assistance with every act of daily living,” she told the Winnipeg Free Press.

She asked the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority for more hours. She was told she could have round-the-clock care if she moved into a seniors’ residence or Riverview Health Centre. She wanted to stay home, and she knew people with ALS who had died soon after moving into long-term care. On 3 October 2022, at 10 a.m., Sathya died by MAID in Winnipeg. She was 44.

Why they were pushed toward MAID

In her own words, a lack of care pushed her to MAID. “Ultimately it was not a genetic disease that took me out, it was a system,” she wrote. “There are not enough supports and services promoting quality of life and independence for those who are not healthy and able-bodied.”

When she asked for more help, she said, she was told “to just pay out of pocket,” which was impossible on about $1,300 a month from disability income and the Canada Pension Plan. She had little family or friend support to fill the gaps. A friend told CBC that Sathya did not tell her MAID assessors that a lack of home care was driving her decision, because she feared they would turn her down. These are her own statements and those of her friends. No official review has tested them.

What their family says

“Look to unhealthy societal structures and government,” Sathya wrote. “There is desperate need for change. That is the sickness that causes so much suffering. Vulnerable people need help to survive. I could have had more time if I had more help.”

Her friend LeGal wrote that the impact of Sathya’s life and death “has been felt far and wide,” with many worried about others turning to MAID “when advocacy for better services seems futile.”

What this case shows

Sathya Kovac did not want to die yet. She wanted a few more hours of help each week so she could live at home. The system offered her an institution or MAID, and she named that failure plainly in her last words. Her case shows that for disabled Canadians, the gap between the support they get and the support they need can be decided by MAID.

Sources

• CBC News: Winnipeg woman who chose to die with medical assistance said struggle for home care help led to decision
• Winnipeg Free Press: ‘I could have had more time if I had more help’
• Winnipeg Free Press: Battle with ALS brought overwhelming struggle for supports
• Winnipeg Free Press Passages: Obituary: Sathya Dhara Kovac