A Victorian lady travels to Kelowna this week. She hopes to finally be diagnosed for a condition that has left her paralyzed with "excruciating pain."
For more than a decade, Zoey Swadden, 23, has been dealing with what she believes to be endometriosis. She has seen more than 20 doctors in less than a year without her diagnosis, she said.
"I get a lot of gunshot pain down to my diaphragm. I also get navel pain. It's demobilization," she explained.
"I want to work. I want to go to school right now, but I can't. I'm just preparing to fail."
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Swadden is one of the 1 million British Columbia residents who do not have a family doctor. Years of visiting clinics and emergency departments failed to get the referrals needed for an MRI or surgical pelvic exam, she told Global News before her trip. 25} Endometriosis is a medical condition in which cells similar to the endometrium of the uterus grow outside the uterus, most often in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and surrounding tissues. It affects more than 500,000 Canadians and in some cases causes infertility, but the associated chronic pelvic pain can have other complications.
said she had a gynecologist, but she couldn't be contacted. I couldn't get it. Last week she said she had been to the hospital in so much pain that she "couldn't walk" but was told to leave because another patient needed a bed. 36} Story Continues Under Advertisement
"It's never been taken seriously enough," she said. "It was really hard to accept all these experiences and keep telling myself, 'Just keep going, keep going.'
But if you want this to go away, if you want it to be better,
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Swadden is not alone. According to a 2020 study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada, the average patient was about 28 years old at the time of diagnosis, with diagnosis often delayed by more than 28.5 years.
She said the hospital in Kelowna was better than the one she visited on Vancouver Island. She said she was traveling to Kelowna in hopes of bringing results.If Kelowna failed, she said she would visit the trail, followed by doctors in Calgary and Edmonton agreeing to take her on as a patient. He said he would reportedly visit Alberta.
"I know you don't have to leave the province, but if you want help there, get help there."
Her last resort, she added, is to go to Seattle to see a doctor who specializes in endometriosis. She added that she was prepared to take out a loan for the procedure.
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In an interview, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the ministry would "consider helping the person in this case" and said the need for referral was manageable.
"I think it's important to do that," he said. "Broadly speaking, I think it's important to do what we do, which is to increase the ability of the system to support people." and are working to resolve the reimbursement issue and attract new doctors from home and abroad, he added. Since he became minister, he said 38,000 new staff members, including 600 new doctors, have joined his BC health care system.
"Often, for a variety of reasons, they are not opting for full-service home health care options," he admitted. "I totally agree that more needs to be done."
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British Columbia attributed to former BC liberal government, along with "large numbers" of new residents in need of doctors He said he is addressing health care challenges. The minister also noted recent improvements, including a record number of new registered nurses and "an unprecedented increase in primary care appointments, emergency room visits, surgeries and diagnostic care."
Swaden, meanwhile, said her pain had increased dramatically since November. Over the past seven months, she says the condition has affected her mental health as she has lost "hope" for her health care system and the chances of her feeling better. .
"During this month and a half, there have been many days when her body felt like it had stopped working and she was terrified," she said. "It not only scares me, it scares my partner and several family members." She added, The couple are now preparing for a month-long trip to find their diagnosis.
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