When health is the reason income stopped, the financial problem arrives alongside something harder, and the energy needed to deal with paperwork is exactly the energy you do not have.
So start with the things most likely to produce money without a fight.
Check what you may already have
Mortgage insurance. Many people bought disability or critical illness coverage with the mortgage and forgot. It is worth ten minutes to check your original documents or ask your lender directly whether any coverage is attached.
Employer benefits. Short-term and long-term disability coverage, and any group plan through work or a union.
Private policies bought separately, including through a credit card or bank.
Government support. EI sickness benefits, and for longer-term conditions, the disability supports available provincially and federally. Application processes take time, which is a reason to start rather than a reason not to.
Do not assume you do not qualify for something. Check.
Talking to your lender
A medically caused interruption with a documented prognosis is one of the situations lenders are most likely to work with, because it is specific and often temporary. Say plainly what happened, what the expected recovery looks like, and what you can manage meanwhile.
You are not obliged to share your full medical history. What helps is enough to make it concrete.
If the change is permanent
That is a different question, and worth facing honestly rather than slowly. If income will not return to previous levels, the useful question becomes whether this home fits the life you now have — including whether it is even suitable, since accessibility sometimes matters more than address.
Selling on your own terms while you still have equity can fund a home that actually works for the situation. That is not defeat; for some people it is the most practical decision available.
Ask for help with the paperwork
If you are unwell, doing all of this alone is unrealistic. A family member, a social worker, a patient navigator, or 211 Alberta can help you work through applications. Asking is not an imposition — these systems are genuinely difficult to navigate at full strength, let alone unwell.
Questions people ask
General information about the Alberta foreclosure process — not legal or financial advice, and nothing here guarantees an outcome. Every file is different.