Surgery wait list so long this Montrealer's raising funds to have hips replaced in private system

Jaya-Lilas Payette used to manage her juvenile arthritis with medication but about a year ago, the drugs stopped being effective.

Payette's arthritis had progressed to osteoarthritis and last fall, her routine X-rays showed her hip bones had deteriorated much faster than expected.

"We saw the bones of my hips were totally crushed together," said Payette.

The 25-year-old used to work in a busy Montreal cafe, but the physical demands became overwhelming.

At the end of the day, she says she'd fall into bed from sheer exhaustion and pain.

"I wasn't even able to make meals or do my chores because I really had to go to bed after work so I could wake up and do the same thing over again," said Payette.

She was referred to an orthopedic specialist in November and told it could take up to three months to get an appointment. But she still hasn't received a consultation.

"I call every week, crying, almost screaming because I can't endure the pain anymore," said Payette. "I'm not even on the list yet in the public system."

Unable to work since last fall, Payette has become increasingly housebound.

Her mobility has deteriorated so much she has to move around her third-floor apartment with the help of a walker and relies on her family to run errands and do housework.

"Her social life has been very affected and I'm afraid for her mental health too, because being in bed all the time like that is not what a person her age should be living right now," said Payette's mother, Ève Le Bourdais.

Desperate, Payette's family called a private clinic and got a consultation with a surgeon the following day.

"He said, 'So, when are we doing the surgery, because it's urgent," said Payette, who needs both hips replaced.

It will cost $35,000 for the surgery.