A Saskatchewan woman’s husband credited Glenn Beck and his team with saving his wife’s life after Canada’s healthcare system failed to provide essential medical treatment for her rare parathyroid disease.
Jolene Van Alstine, who suffers from normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism—a condition causing severe bone pain, fractures, and debilitating symptoms—has endured eight years of worsening health due to the illness. Despite multiple surgeries, she requires a specialized procedure to remove her overactive parathyroid gland. However, no surgeons in her province can perform the operation, and her local endocrinologists refuse new patients.
Miles Sundeen, Van Alstine’s husband, described their struggle during an emotional appearance on The Glenn Beck Program: “It’s been a long and very arduous journey… We’ve gone through very tough times trying to get help through our health care system; long, long wait times both to see specialists, to get a diagnosis initially, and then to wait times for surgeries as well.”
Van Alstine has become increasingly vulnerable to mental health complications amid her suffering. While she remains determined to live, the Canadian healthcare system’s strain—exacerbated by underfunding and record numbers of immigrants—has left her without access to critical care. Sundeen noted that the system is “absolutely overwhelmed,” with a recent government report indicating it missed 38% of nonpermanent residents in its 2021 census count.
The Canadian government’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, which has become one of the top five causes of death in Canada, now looms over Van Alstine’s situation. George Carson, a MAID approval doctor, confirmed he assessed her and granted her eligibility. Yet Sundeen emphasized she “wants to live,” saying: “If it was me, I think I would have had a gun to my head long ago.”
Beck reported direct contact with high-level officials in the Trump administration who agreed to assist Van Alstine. He stated they are working to secure her transfer to U.S. medical care and confirmed his team is arranging for her treatment. “We’ll find a way to make this happen if it is at all possible,” Beck told Sundeen, adding that millions are praying for Van Alstine’s recovery.
