A Nova Scotia woman is speaking out for her mother — and other patients — who are waiting for potentially life-saving procedures that have been put on hold during the third wave of COVID-19 in the province.
“A sad, scared and discouraged daughter,” Taylor Hicks signs her letter to Premier Iain Rankin.
Hicks’ mother, Susie Hicks-Gordon who lives in Amherst, N.S.. first went to the hospital in February for abdominal pain. Hicks says it was especially concerning because her mother has a genetic predisposition to certain types of cancers.
“These include mesothelioma, ocular melanoma, kidney cancer and lung cancer,” Hicks told Global News.
The family first found out about the gene mutation following her grandmother’s death from ocular melanoma, and the cancer diagnoses of several other family members.
“They did a little bit of investigating and found out we had this genetic mutation that normally starts affecting our family when they’re in their 50s,” she said.
So, it was a sinking feeling back in February, when further testing discovered a mass on Hicks-Gordon’s diaphragm.
She was admitted to the hospital — where she remained for three weeks — and the plan was to transfer her to Halifax for further treatment.
“We were told things were kind of slow due to COVID precautions,” said Hicks.
A biopsy in mid-March was inconclusive, but by the time her surgeon decided to go ahead with more invasive surgery in early-May, the third wave of COVID had arrived.
A huge spike in cases followed by hospitalizations has meant Hicks-Gordon’s surgery — and many others like hers — have been postponed.
Hicks-Gordon says she tries to stay positive and holds out hope every day that she’ll receive a call to say her procedure has been rescheduled.
“Waiting for my procedure has been very difficult,” said Hicks-Gordon.
“Knowing that having something potentially serious and leaving it for this amount of time causes me anxiety and has been tough on my mental health.”
During her wait, another scan has revealed a second mass that will require a biopsy.
Hicks says the wait has been excruciating and her mother deserves to be able to “fight for her health.”
The Halifax-based student decided to write the premier as a way to express her frustration and to let other families in similar situations know they are not alone.
“It is extremely sad, frustrating and even negligent that my mom cannot get the proper care because our health-care system is so fragile that 100 cases of in-hospital COVID patients disrupt the basic care of others,” Hicks wrote.
“Why is my mother’s health less important than others? Nobody can truly understand how this feels until they are going through it themselves.”
Hicks says she knows COVID-19 is serious and feels for the patients who are hospitalized due to the virus, but she also hopes what is happening is a “wake-up call” for the government.
“I hope and pray, should another pandemic happen in the future, our hospitals can actually withstand the pressures and not pick and choose whose health-care is more important,” Hicks wrote in her letter.
“My heart truly goes out to all families affected by COVID, especially for those fighting for their lives in the hospital. I can only hope that my mom gets a chance to fight too.”
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson from Nova Scotia Health said the third wave has indeed caused “considerable uncertainty” for Nova Scotians and that the health-care system has been “forced to adapt in preparation for the spike in hospitalizations.”
“These changes were required to allow the province to build capacity, including beds and staffing, to support COVID-19 related services,” wrote Brendan Elliott in an e-mail.
“We recognize the impact surgical delays can have on patients and their families and have worked hard to minimize these reductions to the greatest extent possible.”
Elliott says despite a higher number of COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions during the third wave, more surgeries have been completed during this wave compared to the first wave in 2020.
He says they are prioritizing patients based on need, when it comes to rebooking procedures. In the meantime, Nova Scotia Health “strongly” urges people to reach out to a primary caregiver or surgeon if their medical conditions or symptoms have changed while waiting for rescheduling.
Hicks-Gordon says in the future — should a situation like this arise again — she hopes the province can move procedures to different hospitals in health zones where pandemic cases are lower.
“I understand COVID-19 is very important and treating patients with the utmost care, but also other illnesses continue just as before the pandemic.”
And above all, she believes the province could do a better job of updating patients.
“The government needs to establish better communication and scheduling of emergency surgeries and procedures with patients. I feel like I’m being left in the dark,” she said.
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