Alberta teen’s family sues government after nearly $200K out-of-country surgical bill

An Alberta teen’s family is heading to court in an effort to recoup nearly $200,000 they spent on out-of-country surgery after she waited more than two years in Canada’s health care system, claiming their daughters’ constitutional rights were violated.

In 2021, when Vienna Pedatella was 13 years old, she was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis, in which her spine was curved like the letter S. Despite inquiring about surgical options, she was told that bracing 23 hours a day for nine months, as well as physical therapy and strength training, were the better options.

“She would try to hide it with baggy shirts and just try to minimize being different,” her mother, Janene Pedatella told Global News.

“The hope was if she wore it compliantly, that when she went through her primary growth spurt that it would sort of help the spine to correct and it wouldn’t get worse — in fact, maybe it might get a little bit better.”

Her condition progressed to the point that she was referred to BC Children’s Hospital to see a specialist, where her and her family were told she had missed the window for a surgical procedure, known as “tethering,” that they believe would not only correct the issue, but allowed Vienna to continue with her active lifestyle. The surgeon told the family that they were too late for that procedure.

“We felt really let down,” her mom said. “I was very very gutted that day because what does that mean for her now? It means fusion if her curve gets worse.”

Vienna was told she would need spinal fusion, connecting two or more vertebrae together using metal rods, screws and bone grafts, which can cause issues with mobility and flexibility for patients. In Vienna’s case, that included 14 levels of vertebrae from the base of her neck, all the way to her lower back, fused.

On top of that, the Pedatellas were told the wait list for surgery was more than two years.

In the meantime, Vienna had another X-ray which showed her spine curve had grown from 40 degrees to nearly 70.

“When we went in May of 2025 and got her scanned and her curve had progressed to 67 degrees, it was like a trigger pulled,” she said. “I said to my husband, we can’t wait anymore.”

“I was in pain the majority of the day,” Vienna said. “I wasn’t getting enough sleep because I’d wake up in pain and then I couldn’t fall back asleep and I couldn’t really stand or walk without being in pain.”

There were also concerns about her body position restricting her organs, and that the curve could progress even further.

“I thought I was getting better and then we found that it got significantly worse, which was terrifying and I was devastated,” Vienna said.

The family started looking out of country for options and found a doctor at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., who recommended anterior scoliosis correction (ASC), a procedure similar to the one offered in B.C., without an age restriction, which they believed could preserve Vienna’s mobility and allow her to return to full function.