Supports lacking for frostbite victims in Manitoba and experts say province not alone

Frostbite injuries can happen quickly, but the effect they have on a person can last a lifetime.

For one Winnipeg man who lost parts of his hands to frostbite, he says people who have experienced the brutal injury have little to no support in the province.

Jonah Bedard lost six of his fingers in 2020 as a result of severe frostbite. While heat doesn’t bother him, the cold is a different story.

“It’s heartbreaking actually, because I can’t do any of the things I love,” explained Bedard. “Even in the summertime, if a cold breeze hits my hands, it feels like knives running through my hands.”

Utilizing shelters, he’s open about his struggles on the streets, and says the injuries on his hands have made life even more difficult and impossible to get stabilised. 

No longer able to play the beloved guitar and unable to work due to the fact that the injuries on his hands are restricting and prone to further complications, but when it comes to getting permanent, long-term support, he says it’s been impossible. 

“The doctor put me on temporary disability like my fingers are going to grow back — that’s not going to happen,” he explained. 

He said frostbite injuries should be treated the same as those who sustain injuries at work or in a car accident, as it changes a person’s life dramatically, but doesn’t seem to be given the same weight when accessing services like housing.

“We’re just fighting barricade after barricade after barricade,” said Bedard.

CityNews reached out to the province and asked about Bedard’s story, to which the province said they have launched the Your Way Home program, which is aimed to help people experiencing chronic homelessness into housing with wrap-around supports.

“People residing in encampments are particularly vulnerable to exposure to extreme weather. Through the encampment action plan, we have helped 156 encampment residents move directly from tents into housing, thereby reducing their risk of exposure to extreme weather,” said Bernadette Smith, Minister of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness.

Smith added the province is working with hospitals in facilitating housing for individuals exiting the hospital through the critical applications process.

“Every year, the sector executes a winter response, funded by Housing, Addictions and Homelessness that funds shelters to operate 24/7 service hubs and increase overnight shelter space from October to March 31. Shelters like Siloam Mission provide additional services including basic wound care, and other shelters connect individuals to the Access Downtown Community Health Centre located across the street from Main Street Project and the Salvation Army,” said Smith in a Statement.

A specialized group of experts looking at frostbite and treatment in Canada says the injury is one that falls through the gaps regularly.

“We have had a number of patients reach out to us with exactly this challenge. Saying I don’t know where to go and I don’t know how this is going to impact me, what can you provide,” said Dr. Cait Champion, a general surgeon and founding member of the Canadian Frostbite Care Network.

The Canadian Frostbite Care Network is a group of highly specialized medical professionals working to close the gap around frostbite care, as across Canada, how frostbite is treated, managed, and recognized varies widely. 

“There aren’t really clear supports for patients with frostbite; it’s one of those injuries that’s rare enough, but common enough, but there really aren’t established systems of care,” said Dr. Champion.

She said health authorities need to establish better systems of care for frostbite, including following patients as they heal and move forward into “survivorship,” saying Manitoba, with its brutally cold winters, could be a leader when it comes to putting these types of systems in place.