By TREENA MIELKE
A Rimbey-area couple, frustrated with the wait time for surgery in Alberta, finally received the needed medical attention at a private clinic out of province.
Lutz Lohmann and his wife Ina flew to Vancouver, B.C. in November so Lutz could receive necessary surgery on his back before his worsening condition caused him to end up in a wheelchair.
Lohmann explained that her 57-year-old husband had suffered a serious back injury in a car accident three years ago.
“Through the impact, one of his disks got shoved into his spinal canal and broke off and there was a piece hanging there and then he got calcium build up inside and it was strangling his spinal cord,” she explained. “The specialists all knew that and he was put on the list for surgery, but they said it would be 12 to 18 months before he could see a surgeon just for an appointment.”
Such a long waiting time was not an option for her husband, said Lohmann, adding he could barely walk and was on morphine for the pain.
While visiting a clinic in Calgary, the couple was given the name of a private clinic in Vancouver which performs the surgery Lutz needed.
An appointment was set up within 10 days and 10 days later, the surgery, which took about an hour and a half, was performed.
“When we came to Vancouver I had to help him out of the airport because his left side was almost paralysed. He had his surgery on Nov. 3 and that same night he could actually walk and could feel the ground under his feet, which he wasn’t able to do for months. We had to stay there (in Vancouver) for a whole week and everything went well. Now he is without pain and he will not end up in a wheelchair.”
Lohmann said the surgery cost about $12,000 but it was worth every penny.
“We didn’t care. We would have gladly sold the farm just to fix him up.”
Lohmann wants to get the word out to Albertans who are on long waiting lists for surgery that help is available outside of the province.
“A lot of people die or end up in a wheelchair because of the waiting time and people don’t have the knowledge of what they can do. A lot of people don’t even know they have the option of going to B.C. And for people who can’t afford the surgery, there is a financing plan available.”
While Lohmann is grateful her husband received the immediately medical attention he needed, she is saddened they had to go elsewhere to find it. She believes Alberta’s health care system is breaking down.
“I know of several people who have moved just to have a better health care system,” she said.
Lohmann believes the only way to make a difference is to take a stand and speak out against the long wait times.
“So many people have just given in and they wait. They think doctors are gods. They don’t fight. If everybody would do that the whole health care problem would have been changed already a long time ago.”
Lohmann sees a two-tiered system as a solution.
“A two-tiered system would solve the problem of the waiting lists. I’m from Germany and we have had that for many, many years. People can pay privately and they have the most accomplished surgeons over there.
Forty per cent of their surgeries are privately paid and the other ones are government paid.
(The end result is) they are happy and the patients are happy because there is no long wait time. Why can’t it be like that in Alberta?
Lohmann encourages anyone who wants more information about the surgeries offered in British Columbia to call her at 403-843-3684.