In need of a knee replacement for over 2 years, P.E.I. woman says the wait is 'wrecking' her life

Lisa-Beth Glassman thought she'd be spending her retirement painting, cooking and enjoying life on her farm. Instead, she spends her days in terrible pain.

She is one of many people in Prince Edward Island who are waiting for knee replacement surgery. 

Glassman said the wait is very hard on her. 

"I'm at the end of my rope. I don't know what to do. I can't get any relief and I can't get any help," she said. 

According to Health P.E.I.'s website, 50 per cent of knee replacement patients are treated within 368 days, and 90 per cent within 715 days. Health P.E.I. was unable to provide an estimate of how many people are currently waiting for the surgery.

Glassman said even getting on the waitlist takes some time. It took her a year to get connected to an orthopedic surgeon, then another year to get an in-person appointment. A surgeon told told her she needed a knee replacement in June 2023, but she still does not have a date for her surgery. 

"They likely won't even be setting [a date] until somewhere between July and September of this year. I don't know when," Glassman said. "That [surgery] could be six to eight months after that…. I don't have much hope.

"Without knowing when this is going to end, it's really difficult to manage." 

Impacts on mental health

The wait is not only taking a toll on Glassman physically; it's also affecting her mental health. She said not knowing when her suffering will end has been especially hard. 

"It's kind of wrecking my life. It's really hard, when you've got chronic pain, to think about anything else. Every movement hurts, sitting still hurts," she said.

"I feel like my life is kind of on hold and there's nothing, no hope dangling in the future… I have nothing to aim for."

Glassman takes a high dose of pain medication daily. She can no longer drive a car, and it's often very difficult for her to walk, so she spends a lot of time at home. 

"I'm a pretty tough cookie, but this is debilitating to the point of ridiculousness," she said.

"I've got other activities that I like to do and everything seems to be on hold and it's wreaking havoc with my mental health. I'm really depressed." 

Treatment in other provinces? 

Glassman has been searching for ways to shorten her wait. She proposed having the operation in another province, and was able to get a surgery slot at a public hospital in Toronto.

"I am offering to go to Toronto, pay my own way, organize my own accommodations, just pay for the freaking surgery that you'd be paying for anyway. Whenever it came up,"  she said. 

She said her request to have Health P.E.I. pay for the Ontario surgery has been denied twice, despite a letter from her surgeon.

"For them not to be proactive at all and to just say there's too many people, live with it — that's not a good enough answer. That's not helping anybody." 

Health P.E.I. told CBC News in an email that the Island has one of the longest wait times for scheduled knee surgeries in Canada, but that funding for out-of-province operations is not available. 

"P.E.I. offers knee replacement surgery on-Island, and as a scheduled (non-emergent) procedure, it is not currently eligible for off-Island funding," the agency said. "Redirecting funding to external jurisdictions would not build PEI's own long-term capacity or sustainability." 

'There are people in a lot of pain'

Glassman said she has been advocating for some sort of solution, not only for herself but also for others who are waiting.

She's even taken to social media to express her frustrations. That led to many messages from Islanders in similar situations. 

"I've heard tons of stories. There are people in a lot of pain, and maybe in worse condition than I am," she said. "I'm at the end of my rope. I'm frustrated because I've tried to advocate for myself and others... and nothing's come of it."

Health P.E.I. said it is aware the wait times can impact a person's quality of life and increase health risks, and said it's working to reduce the timeline. 

"Health P.E.I. is investing in areas like optimizing scheduling, expanding operating room use, and increasing same-day procedures to reduce wait times locally and improve efficiency, and ensure equitable access to care," the statement reads.