The Elephant in the Room




White Coat, Black Art on CBC Radio show

Summary: Host Brian Goldman travels to Ottawa to meet two extraordinary women who share a common bond. Kim McLeod and Julie Drury were both mothers to children who doctors call “medically fragile”: two kids with rare diseases so complicated they need nearly round the clock care just to stay alive. Because of their medical conditions, both children died prematurely. With great strength, the two women share their stories of their children's last days. They impart their wisdom about how the medical system could better help families cope with the painful final moments of a child's life. They both question why the medical system doesn't include death in their conversations with families, particularly those with "medically fragile" children. Is it not part of life?