A father from London, Ont., has started a six-week journey to Queen’s Park in Toronto, pushing his daughter’s empty wheelchair for 200 kilometres to fight for better access to out-of-country health care.
Joe Gesualdi began his trek on Tuesday morning from his home in south London, wheeling the chair to Victoria Park, which marks the first four kilometres of a journey he hopes will raise awareness among politicians and the public about his daughter Sydney’s difficulties accessing treatment.
Sydney Gesualdi was just 24 when she was hit from behind at a red light in July 2023. Initially diagnosed with whiplash and soft-tissue injuries, her condition worsened in the weeks that followed-she lost her ability to walk, struggled with breathing, and experienced numbness throughout her face and limbs.
Now at 27 years old, she is looking for surgery in New York that she believes could help her condition, but the family claims they can’t afford it.
WATCH | Day 1 of the Miles4AMiracle walk:
Dad walks from London to Queens Park to share daughter’s health story
Joe Gesualdi kicked off his Miles4AMiracle walk on Tuesday morning, pushing Sydney’s empty wheelchair from their home in south London towards Victoria Park downtown. This marks just the beginning of a challenging 200-kilometre journey to Queens Park in Toronto where he plans to share Sydney’s story and advocate for more accessible out-of-country health care. He explains what’s at stake and why he’s committed to this challenge.
“This wheelchair of Sydney’s represents everything that has been taken away from her young life,” Joe Gesualdi shared.
“It’s out of desperation that I made the decision to walk her wheelchair 200 kilometres as a symbol of my commitment to Sydney, my love for her and restoring hope that she might have a normal life again.”
“I can’t give up on Sydney, and I’m hoping that change comes.”
Sydney has been diagnosed with cranio-cervical instability-a condition causing excessive movement between her skull and upper neck vertebrae. She says her symptoms have worsened over the past year, now including memory loss, choking episodes, and slurred speech.
“I’m essentially housebound. I spend around 80 per cent of my day either lying down or sitting in bed,” she explained. “I can only leave my house for necessary medical appointments; my world has shrunk significantly.”
![]()
Sydney Gesualdi, now 27, was rear-ended at a red light in July 2023. Since then, she’s lost the ability to walk while also facing breathing issues and extreme fatigue among other symptoms. (Submitted by Sydney Gesualdi)
“I’m just continuing to get worse without proper care; each week brings more concerning symptoms,” she said.
“I’m scared-I don’t want to die.”
Last year, Sydney talked about how hard it was for her to get a spinal assessment. She was referred by eight different doctors across Ontario’s spinal clinics but faced denied consultations due mainly due waiting times and heavy patient loads at those centers.
The family eventually consulted a neurosurgeon based in New York who suggested surgery costing over $490,000 CAD.
The Ontario Ministry of Health rejected Sydney’s request for full funding through its Out-of-Country Health Services program-leaving them responsible for raising money themselves.
“Sydney’s situation has deteriorated further; if we wait too long there might be no benefit left from surgery,” Joe Gesualdi stated. “I can’t keep waiting around.”
Advocacy along the way
While heading toward Toronto, Joe is distributing flyers detailing Sydney’s story along with encouraging donations toward her surgery while raising awareness about struggles some Ontarians face when seeking medical treatment abroad.
He hopes this journey will catch the attention of Premier Doug Ford as well as other key decision-makers within the Ministry of Health.
“The more people understand what’s happening-and relate it back their own family experiences-the better chance we have at driving meaningful change,” he mentioned.![]()
Father Joe Gesualdi (left) is handing out flyers on his walk to Queens Park sharing details about his daughter Sydney Gesualdi’s situation while advocating for greater accessibility regarding out-of-country healthcare treatment. (Kendra Seguin/)
Dad walks from London to Queens Park to share daughter’s health story
Joe Gesualdi kicked off his Miles4AMiracle walk on Tuesday morning, pushing Sydney’s empty wheelchair from their home in south London towards Victoria Park downtown. This marks just the beginning of a challenging 200-kilometre journey to Queens Park in Toronto where he plans to share Sydney’s story and advocate for more accessible out-of-country health care. He explains what’s at stake and why he’s committed to this challenge.
“This wheelchair of Sydney’s represents everything that has been taken away from her young life,” Joe Gesualdi shared.
“It’s out of desperation that I made the decision to walk her wheelchair 200 kilometres as a symbol of my commitment to Sydney, my love for her and restoring hope that she might have a normal life again.”
“I can’t give up on Sydney, and I’m hoping that change comes.”
Sydney has been diagnosed with cranio-cervical instability-a condition causing excessive movement between her skull and upper neck vertebrae. She says her symptoms have worsened over the past year, now including memory loss, choking episodes, and slurred speech.
“I’m essentially housebound. I spend around 80 per cent of my day either lying down or sitting in bed,” she explained. “I can only leave my house for necessary medical appointments; my world has shrunk significantly.”
Sydney expressed gratitude towards her dad participating in this march along with appreciation towards her mom helping plan their route.
“I feel very lucky; however it’s bittersweet knowing my dad needs do this so I can access medical care that hopefully yields positive outcomes,” she added.
Joe acknowledged how difficult this undertaking will be yet emphasized it pales compared with what his daughter endures daily.
“I am going to complete every single mile-every kilometre-with no shortcuts,” he affirmed.
“Yes-it’ll be quite an undertaking-but regarding Sydney needing care? That never stops.”
Source link
