Alvin Law says he stopped asking himself “why me?” a long time ago. After living with no arms for 30 years of his life, he started asking himself “why not me?”
Now 54 years old, Law is one of Canada’s 95 Thalidomide survivors. He and hundreds of others were born in the 1960s with severe deformities because their birth mothers had taken the drug Thalidomide, originally marketed to pregnant women looking for sleep aides and morning sickness suppressants.
The drug was first available in Canada in late 1959; doctors began prescribing it in April, 1961. Despite being pulled from markets in West Germany and the United Kingdom in December that year, the drug was available in Canada until May, 1962.
The devastating, permanent side effects on infants included deafness, blindness, cleft palate, underdeveloped organs, and deformed or missing limbs.
“I was one of the lucky ones,” Law said. “I’m extremely fortunate to have a support system around me.”
The Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada (TVAC) estimates there are 5,000 worldwide survivors alive today. “Never counted and never to be known, are the numbers of babies miscarried, or stillborn,” the TVAC website reads.
“Why not me?” seems an apt philosophy for the full-time motivational speaker.
Law is a founding member of TVAC, which formed in Dec. 1987. Right from the beginning, he and the four co-founders have been pushing the federal government for financial compensation and acknowledgment of its errant approval of Thalidomide.
In 1991, TVAC achieved a one-time compensation payout, ranging from $52,000 to $ 82,000 per person, depending on severity of disability. That money is long gone, say TVAC members.
Now headed by Mercedes Benegbi, the association is calling on the government for a single lump-sum payment to each survivor, along with annual financial support for the remainder of their lives.
The proposed lump sum amount is $250,000. The proposed annual support ranges from $75,000 to $150,000, depending on each person’s disability.
Stemming from a series in the Globe and Mail last November, NDP opposition MP Libby Davies brought forward a motion in Parliament to give full financial support to the country’s Thalidomide survivors. The motion passed unanimously with a vote count of 256-0.
Benegbi and TVAC representatives are currently in negotiations with the federal government over the monetary amounts. At the time of publication, TVAC did not provide comments on the negotiations, which have passed their original, Jan. 26 deadline.
“I think what [MPs] did was take off their politician hats and put on a human hat. This is a human story,” Law said.
“The fact of the matter is there’s a really serious problem. I think it’s less out of sympathy and more out of a reality check,” he said.
That reality is Thalidomide survivors are now in their early fifties; their bodies have aged and worn down quickly, because they “use their bodies in ways they aren’t designed for,” Law said. Many have developed arthritis and back problems.
“Even looking down the road, I have to be very honest with myself ... I worry that using your feet and legs the way I do will degrade them prematurely,” he cautioned.
Regardless of his concerns about the future, he speaks proudly about TVAC finally gaining acknowledgement from the government. “We’re asking for the support that has been due to us all along.”
“We face these issues due to the drugs and not one of our asking,” he said.
Now living in Calgary with his family, Law attributes his success – personal, emotional, mental – to his childhood in Yorkton, Sask. and to his accepting parents. “The only people I’ve called mom and dad in my life,” he said.
Hilda and Jack Law took Alvin in after his birth mother was encouraged to give him up for adoption. “Growing up in Yorkton was awesome. They viewed their job as foster parents to enable me,” he said.
Beyond his family, Law said the Yorkton community was his larger enabler, always supporting him. Childhood photos show him putting money in a piggy bank, practicing archery and playing the trombone – all with his feet. In other photos, he’s surrounded by his baseball teammates, playing drums and trombone in a jazz band and fishing.
“My advice regarding disability is philosophical ... I believe a disability is a state of mind and in fact, ironically, if you are handicapped your struggles to succeed make you stronger than the non-disabled. Life is full of challenges...how we face them is everything,” he said.
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