After a wait of more than a year, Brian’s eye surgery was abruptly cancelled this week.
Wednesday afternoon, the Whitehorse man was booked for a pre-op with the visiting specialist at Whitehorse General Hospital.
“But I was called literally an hour before that appointment and told, due to staff sicknesses, they weren’t able to staff the operating room — so my surgery was cancelled,” said Brian, who asked his name be withheld because he feared it might further delay his surgery.
He was diagnosed with cataracts in October of 2006.
A year later, one eye was fixed.
“I was scheduled for January (for the other eye),” he said.
“But now, I’m rescheduled for April.”
The specialist was here for one week.
“I actually know someone else who had their surgery done on Tuesday,” said Brian.
The surgery would replace the lens in Brian’s eye.
Without it, “it’s almost as if you’re looking through dust,” he said.
The eye that’s had the surgery “works well — it’s 20/20.”
To miss the surgery because of staffing issues is frustrating, said Brian.
“It’s an ongoing issue, and I’m not sure they’re improving,” he said.
“I know nothing about a staff shortage,” said hospital communications spokesperson Val Pike, when asked about the cancellation.