Another Saskatchewan resident brings story of surgery delay to legislature

In response, Health Minister Paul Merriman reaffirmed his commitment to expanding surgical capacity and said a new announcement should be made in the coming week.

After waiting for more than two years for parathyroid surgery, kidney disease patient Terry Rebalkin has decided it’s time to speak out.

“They told us to wear our mask, get our vaccinations do everything and all of a sudden they just open everything up and so there’s no restrictions or anything so now people are getting more sick,” the Saskatoon resident said at the legislative building Tuesday.

“So there’s more and more beds being taken up by people who have had COVID, and I understand they’re sick but what about the rest of us?”

While she now has a surgery date set for next month, Rebalkin says she believes that if COVID-19 restrictions had remained in place for longer, the wait could have been shortened.

“I just want my surgery. And the only way I’m going to get it is to fight for it and nobody should have to do that,” Rebalkin, who travels with the assistance of a walker, told reporters.

“It doesn’t give you a good outlook on life and I’m not going to lie, I’m scared. I just want my life back.”

Rebalkin was diagnosed with kidney disease over 10 years ago, but until 2019 was able to live without the need for dialysis or a transplant. She learned in 2019 that she would need to undergo parathyroid surgery before she could get on the list to receive a transplant.

But she says she’s been told by her doctors since then that Saskatoon hospitals haven’t had the capacity to accommodate the multi-day procedure.