Hospitals and Surgery Delays

Just a little hip update.

Like many other places, Manitoba is experiencing the third wave of Covid 19, and with it, the hospitals are being overwhelmed. There aren't enough ICU beds or staff to manage all the extra patients coming to the hospital in serious shape due to Covid. 

The government announced that the hospital I was supposed to go to was reduced to 50% capacity for elective surgeries. 

Last Monday, my orthopedic surgeon's office called informing me that my hip revision surgery on May 19th is cancelled and will eventually be rebooked. The doctor's assistant told me that my surgeon can have a few urgent surgeries and that he has put in an appeal that I be placed on the shortlist because he believes that I am at serious risk of reinjury. I asked if that meant I would have the surgery sometime after the 19th, and she said that if it is okayed, the surgery could be anytime.. the next day or a month away. No idea. Basically, I guess it depends on the number of emergency orthopedic surgeries.  In the news quoted below, I fall into the day-by-day case-by-case decisions. 

I am really very thrown by having an unknown date that I should be ready for. My plan for today is to actually pack a bag with anything I might need in the hospital. Just in case.

In actuality, I am feeling a bit better physically this week, and some of the hip pain is easing up. I am probably finally healing a bit since the last dislocation. Some part of my brain is saying to me, "Maybe we can wait for surgery until Covid is gone?" or " Maybe we don't really need surgery after all?. The more practical part of my brain is saying, "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life anticipating another catastrophic event that you can prevent by going through with the surgery?" My daughters say I am blocking out and forgetting how bad the experience really was or I wouldn't think avoiding surgery sounds good. They are probably right. 

Maybe I am just wanting to chicken out with this draggin' on for so long.

Siragusa said surgical units will continue to prioritize urgent surgeries, such as trauma, cancer and life-threatening conditions, but they’ll have to look at all surgical activity closely.

“We’re going to need to be prioritizing on a day-by-day and case-by-case basis,” she said, adding that some surgeries may have to occur outside of Winnipeg.

“The impact on surgery in the coming weeks is likely to once again be significant,” Siragusa said.

“As we reduce surgical volumes to allow for an increase in critical care capacity, and patients whose appointments are affected, we'll hear directly from their care team, if there is a change in their appointment or their care plan.”

Coronavirus: Manitoba scaling back on elective surgeries due to rising ICU needs | CTV News