“Life just stops”: Woman’s seven-month wait for critical heart operation

A 67-year-old Oamaru woman spent nearly seven months waiting for open-heart surgery that she was initially told would take place within 4 to 8 weeks.

Cathy Lawrence has been living with aortic stenosis, a serious narrowing of the aortic heart valve that requires urgent open-heart surgery.

Instead of receiving a clear date, Cathy Lawrence spent seven months in limbo, waiting for a letter that would tell her when she would receive her life-saving surgery.

“I was told in March the wait would be about four to eight weeks and I thought ‘oh that sounds pretty good’, then it kept stretching – 10 weeks, 12 weeks, 15 weeks. 

“Life just stops. It’s the waiting that’s the pits. I’ve noticed that I became more of a recluse. It impacts your mental health.”

Then, in early September, Cathy received the letter she’d been waiting for. Her surgery had finally been scheduled – some seven months later.

Following her surgery in mid-September, Cathy was told that when she was placed on the waitlist in March she had a 50/50 chance of dying within a year if I hadn’t had the operation.

“I didn’t know how bad I was until after the surgery – I was walking around with a ticking time bomb in my chest,” she says.

Cathy is grateful to have had her surgery and be on the road to recovery, but she knows she is one of the lucky ones, she says.

“I know people who are in worse condition than me.

“It’s heartbreaking to think they might wait even longer - with some not getting the care they need in time.”

Wait times for valve replacement surgery in some regions in New Zealand have increased in recent times – some patients are waiting for longer than the recommended timeframe of an operation within 3 months.  

Kia Manawanui Trust – The Heart of Aotearoa Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says waiting seven months for heart surgery is not just unacceptable, it is dangerous.

“Cardiac patients don’t have the luxury of time.

“Every week of waiting puts them at greater risk of heart failure, stroke, or sudden death.” 

The postcode lottery is rife, Ms Harding says. 

“Cathy’s story is an example of people in smaller regions often waiting longer than those in main centres.

“No one’s access to life-saving treatment should depend on where they live,” she says.

“We urgently need investment, and a national commitment to bringing all cardiac wait times – in all regions – back within safe limits.”