How One Person Took National Health Care into Her Own Hands

When Allison Hunt found out that she needed a new hip — and that Canadas national health care system would require her to spend nearly 2 years on a waiting list (and in pain) — she took matters into her own hands.

“So by now I was walking the lobby, and of course, that hurt, because of my hip, and I kind of needed a sign. And I saw a sign. In the window of the hospital’s tiny gift shop there was a sign that said, ‘Volunteers Needed.’ Hmm. Well, they signed me up immediately. No reference checks. None of the usual background stuff, no. They were desperate for volunteers because the average age of the volunteer at the hospital gift shop was 75.”

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