79-year-old waiting for open-heart surgery in B.C. says health is deteriorating
A Vancouver senior says she was told by her doctor in November that she required open-heart surgery. Seven months later, she’s yet to receive a surgery date and says her condition is getting worse.
Heather Clarke, a retired health-care worker says her heart's mitral and tricuspid valves need to be replaced. And while she's been waiting for the procedure, she's noticed everyday tasks are getting more difficult.
“Walking up stairs in the house, I walk up, but at the top now I have to sort of pause, take some breaths,”
Around a year ago Clarke says she was very active, often completing high elevation, multi-kilometre hikes. Now, she says even a small stroll feels like a marathon.
“I’m going to get more and more limited in what I can do,” said the 79-year-old.
Clarke is one of many British Columbians anxiously waiting to go under the knife. The pandemic, staffing and funding issues have all contributed to a backlog of surgeries in the province, with some people waiting years for a trip to the operating bed.
“It’s really distressing, not having any idea when I might have a date,” said Clarke.
FRIENDS BECOME ADVOCATES
“Not being able to get essential surgery? Something is very desperately wrong,” said Alex Volkoff, a friend of Clarke who’s advocating on her behalf.
Volkoff says she’s fed up seeing her friend become weaker before her eyes, so she’s decided to raise awareness on the issue by staging demonstrations in front of St. Paul hospital in downtown Vancouver.
“When you watch a friend decline so dramatically over a period of time, and when they discover what the problem is and it can’t be fixed -- you get distressed,” said Volkoff.
She’s helped organize two rallies so far and says several strangers have shared their own stories about how waiting for surgery has impacted their own lives.
CTV News reached out to the health ministry for comment on this issue, but did not receive a response before deadline.
Meanwhile, Volkoff plans to continue fighting for her friend.
“We can’t let the situation deteriorate further than it already has.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.