When we were sent to Trail, the Regional Hospital, after waiting the 4 hours in the Urgent Care Facility for my turn and getting X-Rays and bloodwork done, they consulted with one of the hip surgeons in Trail by phone and the surgeon requested that we travel to the Trail Hospital to get a CT SCAN done (which confirmed a hairline fracture and crack in the tailbone/hip area) and then I was to check in at the Emergency Care building.

When we did that and arrived at Emergency, I was told to not eat because I could have surgery the next day and was assigned a small room that had no windows where I was to stay overnight. I waited (sleepless) into the next day (the first time ever I experienced feeling claustrophobia) and in the early morning, a nurse attached an IV needle into my right arm so that when the surgery happened later, I was all set to go. The surgeon was expected to come any time to talk to me but didn’t show up until the evening later that day.

The evening of October 6, 2022, the nurse on duty was instructed by the surgeon to give me supper because there would not be surgery for me the next day. As I started eating (two days after being told that I could not eat until the surgeon came to see me,) the surgeon showed up and told me that he would not be doing surgery on me. He told me my right hip bones are too weak to do a hip replacement. (I asked my friend Isabelle later to use her pendulum skills to confirm this and she said no, it was not true…there was only 4% deterioration in my hip joints.)

Meanwhile, coming into the hospital that day, my husband was told by one of the acting officials at the Emergency care office that the Trail Hospital has been cancelling surgeries lately and that any person who has not had two Covid shots and the two boosters will not be allowed on the second floor where the surgeries are done, whether patient or family visitors.

I said “Then I can go home now? “And he answered that I could go but wanted to assign me to a Rheumatologist to be in charge of me. He left supposedly to make the arrangements and never came back. We waited a while then I rang the nurse and asked her to come and remove the IV needle from my right arm because I was going home and she reacted with belligerent anger…and said she would not do it. I was not allowed to leave unless I signed a release of the Emergency Department and the hospital because they were responsible for me.

I said “bring the release form – I will sign it” and more resistance and belligerence ensued…more staff came into the picture…they all gave me their input and finally I said to my husband “Let’s go, if they won’t do it then I will pull this thing off myself when I get home!” More resistance…I said to them “I came here because I was given the hope that I could get a hip replacement surgery in the hopes of alleviating the constant pain I am living with and now that hope is gone so I want to go home.” “Will you remove the IV needle from my arm?”

Finally, while others argued, one of the nurses (God bless the peacemakers!) said that she would bring the release form and after I signed it, she would remove the IV needle. I had already told them before that I would do that so I repeated to her that I would do that and she brought the form, I signed it and she opened the door and let us out. She was very nice the whole time. I think the others were not informed or updated by the surgeon, so they had a knee jerk reaction.

I am so happy to be home! What a bizarre experience of the prejudice that now exists towards people who are unvaccinated! Definitely the covid mandates were not dropped on September 30^th, 2022, as stated by Justin Trudeau would be in effect!”

A few days later, my brother called to say many of his friends told similar stories…we heard from friends in Kelowna, B.C. who said that they were also cancelling surgeries there as well. They are all understaffed and even if a bed is available, if it is not made up, they cancel the surgery.