‘It just made everything worse’: Mother takes Sun Life to court over revoked benefits

Amanda Jollymore slipped into a dark place late last year.

Neurologists said her two-year-old daughter, Mia, would never walk or talk. After numerous trips to the hospital and a barrage of tests, she learned that the girl needed hospice care.

Jollymore’s depression deepened, her anxiety increased. The Ottawa woman had been out of work since May 2021 as she focused on her daughter and her own worsening mental health.

At the end of January, the next blow landed.

Sun Life, which had approved Jollymore for long-term disability in August 2021, has withdrawn its coverage.

“It just made everything worse,” Jollymore said through tears in a recent interview. “I feel like my body is five times heavier because I’m so depressed, but I have to keep going for my kids.”

Jollymore has now taken the insurance company to court. She filed a lawsuit in May alleging that she is entitled to long-term disability due to her depression and general anxiety disorder, diagnoses supported by her doctors, that keep her from working.

The insurance company, for its part, denies that Jollymore is entitled to long-term disability.

In her defense statement, filed last month, Sun Life said Jollymore initially qualified for long-term disability in August 2021, when her claim was approved. The information submitted by Jollymore at the time met the definition of “totally disabled” as required by policy, the defense statement said.

But after a review of filed medical reports and other information, Sun Life said Jollymore “no longer met the definition of ‘totally disabled’ or ‘totally disabled’ within the meaning of the policy” and canceled benefits on 1 from January. January 31, 2022, said the defense statement.

“We empathize with Ms. Jollymore and her plight,” Sun Life spokesman Gannon Loftus said. “Our teams are reviewing the matter and working with Ms. Jollymore and her legal counsel to find a solution.”

The defense statement does not specify what caused Jollymore to no longer meet the definition of total disability, and Sun Life did not answer detailed questions about her case, citing privacy.

Jollymore and her attorney, Albert Klein, said they don’t know what led to her long-term disability coverage being revoked.

“Amanda has been paying these premiums for years thinking she has a safety net, a bit of peace of mind, then Sun Life arbitrarily decided on a whim notice that they wouldn’t cover her,” Klein said.

Jollymore’s daughter was born on March 4, 2020. Doctors noted physical symptoms suggestive of birth defects and referred her to Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, beginning her health care odyssey.

The doctors examined every part of Mia’s little body. They looked at her brain, they looked at her blood and her genetics, and they took bone biopsies. Some thought she might have dwarfism, others thought she had a bone marrow problem.

“It was a grueling first few months,” Jollymore said.

At nine months, Mia had infantile spasms and was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy. She contracted urinary tract infections, other times she caught colds and her oxygen levels plummeted.

Mia was admitted to the hospital 13 times in her first 18 months, Jollymore’s claim states. Doctors diagnosed the girl with a hole in her heart, severe farsightedness, low white blood cell count, global developmental delay, brain damage that affected her vision, frequent bouts of pneumonia and lung disease, among other problems. She is fed through a tube in her stomach and belches with a syringe.

“She is at the developmental level of a two-month-old,” Jollymore said.

Doctors also said that Mia had an undiagnosed genetic syndrome.

“Every time he goes in, it’s realistic that he doesn’t come home,” Jollymore said through tears.

“Obviously this made my mental health very, very poor.”

Jollymore returned to her job as a workforce analyst in March 2021 after her maternity leave ended. She worked remotely from her daughter’s bedside every day. She and her husband also have a 12-year-old son who needed love and attention.

“I couldn’t concentrate because I was constantly crying, late for meetings or calls,” Jollymore said. “I was making mistakes.”

She said she was exhausted, but couldn’t sleep, lived with a constant stream of headaches, and had outbursts of anger.

His doctor said he wasn’t in the right mindset to work, so he told his boss, and the company approved his short-term disability leave. A few months later, Sun Life approved his long-term disability claim.

“That was amazing,” Jollymore said. “I could focus on my mental health.”

She diligently followed Sun Life’s monthly requirements, providing updates and medical records, she said. She sought advice, tried various medical treatments, and spoke with a support group for families with children with special needs.

But healing was difficult.

In January, a caseworker told him a review found nothing to support his claim that he couldn’t work. His appeal to Sun Life was rejected.

“The decision actually made my mental health a lot worse,” Jollymore said.

Her husband works long hours in the restaurant industry to try to support the family while she takes care of Mia. They also took out a line of credit to pay the bills.

Jollymore said he tries to focus on the positives when he can.

They celebrate Mia’s “inches,” their version of milestones, like a recent one where she can hold her head up for three seconds.

Mia’s bright green eyes light up when she hears her father’s voice and “absolutely adores her brother.”

“We call her our warrior,” Jollymore said.

However, the overwhelming sadness that stains every day is difficult to overcome.

“I spend my days cuddling her and taking it all in because I don’t know how much time we have,” Jollymore said. “I’m not well.”


This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 7, 2022.

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