N.S. Indigenous activist Delilah Saunders is being transferred to a Toronto hospital as her family fights to get the critically ill Inuk woman a liver transplant.
Saunders is the 26-year-old sister of Loretta Saunders who was killed in 2014. She spoke at the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Membertou, N.S.
She has struggled with alcohol, and her family said she developed acute liver failure when she took acetaminophen. She is now seriously ill and slipping in and out of consciousness.
Earlier this week, her family said rules around substance abuse had prevented Saunders from being eligible for a liver transplant. Ontario’s agency that oversees liver transplants insists patients be sober for at least six months.
Family friend Darlene Gilbert organized a vigil for Saunders in Halifax on Thursday night.
“She lost her sister. Yes, she's struggled with addiction. We all struggle with addiction. But the point is everyone deserves a second chance at life,” she said.
With a report from CTV Atlantic
