Kim Johnston, a longtime Medicine Hat radio host, says he never imagined he would be forced off the air due to a medical crisis that left him struggling to speak. But after months of jaw shaking and trouble forming words, Johnston finally had an MRI, and with it, a diagnosis.
“In October of this year, they discovered a tumor at the base of my brain called an arachnoid cyst,” Johnston said.
Johnston immediately made an appointment with a neurosurgeon, but he says the wait time was much longer than expected. While the Cumming School of Medicine lists a five-day turnaround for a neurologist consultation, Johnston says he was told he would wait approximately 120 days.
Johnston says his condition continues to deteriorate as the delay continues. He can no longer open his jaw wide enough to eat solid food, and speaking—the core of his job—has become painful.
“It doesn’t just affect me,” he said. “In this condition, when the muscle spasms, it hurts to talk. This means that I don’t talk much at home.”
Receive daily national news
Get the day's top news, political, economic and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day.
He fears that if the cyst is left untreated for too long, there could be permanent damage to his speech, and he believes his experience reflects a deeper problem in rural Alberta's health care system.
“There's been a lot of talk about him getting better. Tons of talk,” Johnston said. “But I think I'm a pretty good example that delays do hurt Albertans.”
According to data published on the Alberta Health Services (AHS) website, 26 communities across the province are currently experiencing some form of service cuts.
An AHS spokesperson did not directly specify wait times for specialists. Instead, they said the agency is working to reduce wait times for surgery across Alberta, noting that several factors are assessed when determining when a patient is ready for a procedure.
“We are actively working to reduce wait times for surgeries in the province and improve access to care no matter where patients live in the province,” AHS said in a statement.
“[…] Referrals to the most specialized services are often located in Calgary or Edmonton. We recognize that this distance may be a challenge for patients in more rural or regional communities, and this is a target for improvement at Acute Care Alberta (ACA).”
As he awaits the consultation, Johnston hopes the views expressed will encourage others to do the same.
“Do your research, do your advocacy, don’t give up,” he told Global News. “Albertans deserve better. We must make our voices heard.”
Watch the video above for the full story.
