I Am Afraid to Talk to My Doctors About My Struggle: Mark Carew

Reading Time: 2 minutes

TheGunBlog.ca — The following letter was sent by Mark Carew to Doctors for Protection From Guns and their registered lobbyist last month. Carew shared it with TheGunBlog.ca this week for publication.

 

Good Evening, Honourable Doctors,

I am a firearms owner and an active target shooter. I own two revolvers that I use for target shooting at a local, legal range and club facility. I find the act of target shooting therapeutic and the social interaction vital for my sense of well being. I am also an active follower of the philosophy of classical Stoicism.

I also have Parkinson’s Disease.

I have read your mission statement and many Twitter posts from your social media director‎. I have also read that your organization has appeared before the Canadian Senate in support of Bill C-71.

Privacy Risk

I am now fearful to share the details of my personal struggle with this increasingly debilitating disease. I see the Neurologist tomorrow and the GP on Wednesday next. I feel as though the doctor/patient privilege I share with my doctor(s) will no longer be private and secure if Bill C-71 and your mission statement come to pass.

I am confused and fearful that my medical records, if accessed by non-medical personnel in the RCMP, will be used against me in an unfair and inaccurate manner. I am now not certain as to what I can or cannot share with the physicians currently treating me for Parkinson’s Disease. So I will share nothing more than the bare minimum, if at all. I don’t know how to approach my doctors with these concerns either.

No Threat

I can assure you that I am no threat to anyone or myself and I know full well a time will come that I will be physically unable to pursue my‎ favourite pastime.

I can certainly try to understand the horror of treating victims of gun violence, especially children. My mother was an ER, and later a surgical nurse in Toronto prior to marrying my father. My mother received her post-college training at St. Joseph’s General Hospital in the 1950s and referred to Sundays as children’s day. My mother shared many tragic stories with us, as we grew up, as warnings to consequences of dangerous activities.

I cannot see how the restrictions and requirements of Bill C-71 or your recommendations can possibly reduce gun violence carried out by criminals. I can, however, see how these restrictions, requirements and recommendations will negatively affect my future treatment plans for Parkinson’s Disease.

Sincerely,

Mark Carew
Omemee, Ontario

https://twitter.com/RationalThoug13/status/1116436910162042880