I appreciate Nigel Hannaford's forthright article discussing Alberta healthcare, and public vs private — for profit — providers..I am one of those who quietly took myself out of the 16 to 18 month queue for knee replacement surgery, that became 28 months after COVID-19..Instead, I had both my knees done in Arizona at my own cost..My first (left) knee had been determined to need replacing 10 years prior, but I was advised and encouraged to utilize alternative options. Things such as periodic shots of Cortizone and/or alternatives such as monovisc or cingal, to postpone surgery as long as possible..New developments in the knee-replacement field looked imminent for less invasive solutions. Importantly, the replacements then available were only deemed to last 10 years and I was “too young to do it early and then have to do it again 10 years later.”.However, by fall 2019 I was at a point where I needed to finally deal with my now-constant pain in both knees. I told my wife I was going to contact my specialist in the new year to get into the queue..Then COVID-19 hit, and the last place I wanted to be was in the hospital, so again I put it off and continued to get periodic knee shots that temporarily eased the pain. Unfortunately, their effectiveness was waning..Fast forward to November 2021 when I had a further appointment with my specialist at the South Campus hospital in Calgary where he let me know the wait would be about 28 months. I responded I could not, and would not, be able to wait that long and would explore different options including having it done in the US, and surprisingly he agreed that I should do that..In December 2021 my wife and I drove to Phoenix, AZ where I then enquired from several folks how to find and contact a doctor for my knee replacement, and I was given two names, one a multiple of times..The second week of December I called the doctor’s office and secured a face-to-face meeting for the week before Christmas..When I went in they immediately did X-rays and a scan, following which I met the doctor who indicated he concurred that I was more than ready for replacement, adding I could have it done with him either the last week of February or first week of March..I asked if he had cancellations earlier than that (and) he said yes they sometimes did and I should mention that to his assistant when she called me early in the New Year..When she called me, I asked (about cancellations) and she (said) she had just gotten a cancellation an hour earlier (and) she gave me the spot for Feb. 8, 2022..That was the day I had my first knee replacement. It was done from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m.; I was up and walking by 11:15am and released from the hospital at 12:15 p.m. and had lunch with my wife on the patio by 1 p.m..The level of care I received was quite impressive, and much superior to what my sister and another friend received six/seven months later in Medicine Hat, where they could get in quicker than waiting for a Calgary hospital availability. And they still have issues that I, by comparison, don't..Eleven months later I had my second knee done with the same doctor and hospital in AZ, with almost the same experience (without the lingering COVID-19 protocols, etc.).Although it cost me personally $25,000 for the first and $27,500 for the second, I will tell you it was the right option for me and I wish I had done it much sooner..I found that my Alberta health personnel were unhappy that I was going outside the system and didn’t want to co-operate with my AZ doctor (when asked if they could send digital xrays and MRIs to save that extra cost.).My own family doctor balked at first but then, at my urging, did eventually co-operate, but not until after he chided me for undermining Alberta’s great healthcare system..I have since shared my story with him. He did acknowledge that I probably had made the right choice for me, adding it was only because I had the means where others obviously didn’t and so my actions may hurt the system that they had to rely on..He couldn’t agree that me, taking myself out of the queue, did not help them, which I personally disagree with him about..So that is my story..I would tell Danielle Smith that having options for Albertans increases the quality, etc. of healthcare in this province and that hopefully, despite the NDP pushing their narrative, the government should move in the direction of opening it up to access to other options.
