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It was supposed to be a routine procedure to fix bone spurs in her ankle, but the operation Michelle Fernandes had in 2005 was, in her words, a “disaster.”

The surgeon had inadvertently damaged an array of nerves and the avid runner and cyclist awoke to an excruciatingly painful new condition that would have a profound impact on her life.

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The agony forced Fernandes to quit her broadcasting-executive job, left her bedridden for three years, rendered her sleepless for as many as five nights in succession and at times had the 47-year-old contemplating suicide.

Unable to find relief from top Canadian specialists, the Toronto woman sought help from a world-leading surgeon in the United States — at a cost of $200,000.

It’s a hard pill to swallow, to be injured like I was by a somewhat minor operation, and to have your life destroyed by it

But despite letters of support from many of those local experts — and the fact her problems began as a result of botched treatment here — the Ontario Health Ministry has refused to cover a cent of the massive expense.