'We have to change this': Winnipeg family to stay in Manitoba amid healthcare frustrations

A Winnipeg man who had planned to move out of Manitoba in search of better healthcare for his wife says they will stay in the province, at least for now.

As CTV News previously reported, Donald Perez had purchased tickets to Vancouver in order to find better care for his 56-year-old wife Devina Gracia Perez, who suffered two strokes and then started bleeding from her uterus.

Their frustration with Manitoba's healthcare system came to a head in December, when Perez and his wife had to wait 11 hours in a hospital waiting room.

"Eleven hours my wife is in the wheelchair," he told CTV News on Friday. "Eleven hours, my wife is in a wheelchair soaked in blood and pee, and she is already crying."

READ MORE: Manitoba family moving to B.C. in search of better healthcare

On Tuesday however, Perez said he has cancelled their flight to B.C. because the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority reached out to him shortly after he spoke with CTV News about their situation.

"I told them everything, that we are frustrated because of the system," Perez told CTV News.

He said he was told his wife, who is currently at the HSC women's hospital, will stay there for the time being, and will have daily blood samples.

He said after speaking with his wife's specialist, she will be getting medication to help slow her bleeding as a short-term fix. In the long term, he said they are planning to get a surgery done to help her.

"That means at least I still have confidence that my wife is going to be okay for the short term," he said.

While their flights to Vancouver have been cancelled, Perez told CTV News he still plans to move to B.C. in the future.

"I don’t trust anymore the healthcare system," he told CTV News. "This is not only for us, it can happen to anyone – to your family, to your friends, you know? We have to change this."

You can read more about Donald and Devina Gracia Perez online.

-with files from CTV's Mason DePatie