Hip Surgery Needed
January 15, 2020 I meet with THE hip surgeon. He’s the best in town and does pediatric cases (this simply means cases in people who are young-ish). He tells me that I will require a total hip replacement in my right and we could try a partial in my left but to call in 2 to 10 years (approx.); as soon as my quality of life declines.
Well, almost two years to the day, I called to get in the surgical cue. I know that things are being cancelled or postponed right now due to the pandemic and the strain on our provincial health care system. I simply wanted to get things in order and be on his radar. I am in a great deal of pain and haven’t slept in a long time because laying down causes the pain to spike.
I am doing my best to stay active, which kinda makes the pain worse but I know that if I don’t keep moving, I will lose the ability to move. Period. So I have to kinda continue the cycle of pain - activity - pain - activity - pain because I work, have kids, would like to carry on as normally as possible. Just bought one of those chariot style strollers so that I can stay active. It holds more cargo (and children) than a walker and I’m not needing my wheelchair yet.
This morning I phone the Ortho unit at the hospital and was told to call my surgeon’s office. So I called them and was informed that I need Ortho to ‘assign papers for surgery’ to me. Called Ortho unit back and was put on hold, then told that they don’t really know how to help me at this time and that I should try calling again next week for more information.
The hope in being heard by my care team is all I have keeping me from breaking.
I am trying my best to stay active. I am trying my best to keep smiling. This is not a life saving surgery. I am privileged to have doctors, to not be in a terminal-care-related situation and to be able to work from home.
No one knows when the government is going to actually help out our underappreciated healthcare workers who have been struggling for a long time (before the pandemic, even). These people need to be heard, supported and paid.
This is where we are at in Ontario:
Ontario Temporarily Moving to Modified Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen - January 03, 2022 - from the Office of the Premier: In addition, on January 5, 2022 the Chief Medical Officer of Health will reinstate Directive 2 for hospitals and regulated health professionals, instructing hospitals to pause all non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries and procedures in order to preserve critical care and human resource capacity.
Ontario tells hospitals to stop non-urgent surgeries, procedures to preserve critical-care capacity - January 05, 2022 - from CBC News, Muriel Draaisma:
In the directive — issued to "regulated health professionals or persons who operate a group practice of regulated health professionals" — Moore says the following steps are required immediately:
"All non-emergent or non-urgent surgeries and procedures should be ceased. Emergent and urgent surgeries should continue, in an effort to reduce and prevent patient morbidity and mortality.
All non-emergent or non-urgent diagnostic imaging and ambulatory clinical activity should be ceased, unless directly related to the provision of emergent or urgent surgeries and procedures or to pain management services."