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Kelowna  

Fighting for life - and love

A tale of love has turned to one of tragedy as a Kelowna couple fights to stay together – and for a woman's life.

Patrick McQuary and Endang Suslash met three years ago in Taiwan. According to his sister, Karalee, it was love at first sight.

He was travelling, she on a work permit. Soon, they went to Indonesia so Patrick could meet her family.

The lovebirds planned to return to Patrick's home in the Okanagan and be married, but a couple of days before leaving they both fell ill.

Patrick recovered. Endang did not.

Suffering through the long flight, Endang fell even sicker while in the air.

She was rushed to Kelowna General Hospital as soon as they arrived, and she has been on dialysis ever since – two and half years. The diagnosis: kidney failure.

To make matters worse, the couple had been working on getting Endang's Canadian citizenship. But, because she fell so ill, she has ended up overstaying her visitor's visa and has now been ordered by the federal government to leave the country and return to Indonesia.

Karalee says they received the news on Thursday, and Endang has 30 days to comply.

The couple did marry two years ago in June, but with her request for permanent resident status denied, "We're worried she won't survive going back to Indonesia," said Karalee.

She says health care is of a much lower standard there, and on top of that, patients must pay for every treatment out of their own pocket.

"We're filing an appeal as one last hope for her to stay in Canada," said Karalee, who said her brother is heartbroken.

And, if Endang returns to Indonesia, she is not allowed to come back to Canada for a full year.

In the meantime, the family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to pay for her anticipated medical expenses in Indonesia.

"There (are) little to no options for health care for her there, and treatment options are grim. The dialysis equipment used in their hospitals is not nearly as effective, and the quality of her care would be very poor.

"We want to fight for her to stay in Canada, and get her (a) kidney transplant so they can continue their life together. We are scared for the uncertain and what could happen if she has to go back."



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