‘Totally ignored:’ Sask. senior waiting more than four years for hip surgery

It has been more than four years since Rose Rogers first found out she needed hip replacement surgery. 

After three years of waiting, Rogers had one hip replaced on July 14 of last year. The 77-year-old was supposed to have her second hip replaced within six months. A year and three months later, she’s still waiting for a call.

“I am always hoping every day that there’s going to be some cancellation and I’ll get in for surgery,” she said with emotion. 

Rogers is one of thousands in Saskatchewan not receiving the care they need because of COVID-19 and hospital slowdowns.

“I’m disappointed but I’m not surprised,” Rogers said. “I just feel we’re being ignored, totally ignored.” 

On Tuesday, Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone said about 26,000 non-emergent surgeries have been delayed and 2,000 fewer surgeries were performed between Sept. 19 and Oct. 9 this year than what was done before the pandemic.

Rogers said her doctor told her that in pre-pandemic times, he would complete about 25 hip replacement surgeries each week. Now he’s waiting alongside her, also at a standstill in his work because of the lack of ICU beds available in the province.

 “I have stopped baking … I can’t stand very long,” Rogers explained.

The senior also often can’t make it through the night without taking more pain medication.  

Other complications

In June 2021, Rogers had to visit her doctor because of pain in her right knee, which was very swollen. It took an injection of cortisone to help put it right.

The pain was caused by her bad hip.

From December 2020 to August of this year, Rogers also experienced painful acid reflux, which went into her esophagus. She says she’d been taking Tylenol for her hip pain, which created the acid. 

It was months before she was able to see a doctor, who was finally able to do a procedure where they put a balloon down her esophagus to open her airway. 

“I could go on and on about pain and side effects of what medication does to the body,” Rogers said. “It’s really a sad situation.” 

She knows there are others like her going through painful days because of the backlog of surgical appointments. She doesn’t feel the government has done enough during the pandemic to prevent this and care for the patients who are being put off by the health-care system.

Hopes for the future

Even though she knows it might be some time before she finally is without pain again, Rogers does have hopes for the future that include travelling and seeing family. 

She has a new great-grandchild in Thunder Bay, and a sister, cousins, nieces and nephews in Kelowna, B.C. 

“I have seven sisters and they all became grey before I did,” Rogers said with a laugh. 

“I just want to get well and live again.”