Man ‘in limbo’ awaiting brain tumour surgery
With long wait-lists at Hamilton General, patient turns to MPP
Dean Baker doesn’t know how much time he has left, but he knows it’s running out.
A recent MRI scan showed a large brain tumour behind the right eye of the 59-year-old Welland man. And if it isn’t removed, he will die.
“There’s no doubt about that,” Baker said.
Despite the urgency, Baker has no idea when the life-saving surgery to remove the tumour can be done.
With limited access to Hamilton General Hospital operating rooms and dozens of surgeries already scheduled for the months to come, Baker said his is neurosurgeon could not give him a date for operation.
Baker became concerned about his health after experiencing blackouts, shaking, headaches and slurred speech earlier this year.
At first, he attributed the symptoms to getting older.
“But it turns out that it wasn’t.”
The massive tumour was clearly visible in the MRI scan. It was about the size of a golf ball.
He called the discovery horrifying.
“It was unbelievable. You just can’t believe it’s happening to you.”
Although Baker said physicians have told him the tumour is likely benign, he said they won’t know for certain until they can test it.
And they can’t do that until the surgery is conducted.
“The odds are only about 30 per cent that it is malignant, but they won’t know until they actually pull it out,” Baker said. “That’s what’s ironic about the whole situation.”
Even if it is benign, he said his family doctor told him the tumour will still kill him if not removed.
But as of July 2, Baker said his neurosurgeon told him he had 53 surgeries scheduled ahead of his.
And his surgeon told him he only had access to Hamilton General Hospital’s operating rooms on a few days each month.
“If you start doing the math, these are six- to 12-hour surgeries. That was the scary part,” Baker said.
“The health-care system I thought was on your side. Obviously, it’s not all there, if you know what I mean.
“I think a lot of the cuts that are being made to the health-care system are probably what is causing all this.”
With nowhere else to turn, Baker recently contacted Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch for help.
Last Friday, Burch sent a letter to Health Minister Christine Elliott and Hamilton Health Sciences President and CEO Rob MacIsaac, asking them to expedite the surgery on compassionate grounds.
“Minister, I am hoping you can work with the administration at Hamilton General and Mr. Rob MacIsaac, president and CEO, to arrange to have this surgery done as soon as possible since Dean’s life is hanging in the balance,” Burch wrote.
Baker said he hopes that by reaching out to Burch and sharing his story publicly, it could expedite the process.
However, he doesn’t want his surgery to displace any of the dozens of other patients ahead of him, awaiting similar operations.
He wants enough resources to be put in place to ensure that all 54 patients — himself included — can have their operations in a timely manner.
“That’s the way it should be,” he said.
Despite the life-threatening condition on his mind, Baker spent Sunday fishing. There isn’t much else the father of two and grandfather of three can do but wait and make the most of the time he has left.
“It’s just one of those things. I’m in limbo land right now, that’s what it boils down to,” he said.