'You feel like an afterthought': Sask. only province without dedicated seizure unit
Saskatchewan people who are experiencing seizures are forced to wait two years for treatment, and patients and doctors say that needs to change.
Part of the reason is it's the only province without a dedicated hospital unit to monitor seizures.
"I feel like a completely forgotten bracket of people, in the sense of 'Let's just stuff them over there,' Shannon Loutitt said in an interview from her Royal University Hospital bed this week.
Loutitt used to organize long distance treks called "honour runs" to motivate young people and honour her Métis culture. She and her young athletes would cover more than 80 kilometres jogging from Saskatoon to Batoche, for example.
Four years ago, she was driving across Idylwyld Drive in Saskatoon when a car sped through the red light and slammed into her.
In the years after the crash, she developed searing headaches. They turned into debilitating seizures. This week, Loutitt was accepted to be tested and checked in to a telemetry bed — which is also used to monitor epilepsy — in the hospital.
No dedicated unit
In the hospital, she has sensors and lines attached to her head and hands and body. Her bed is facing several other patients, and the nursing desk is just a couple of metres away.
On one afternoon in that hospital room, family members of a terminally-ill man came and went. Across the room, two women in handcuffs were escorted in by armed guards to visit their father.
She can hear every word of their intimate conversations and every sound made by the recovering trauma patients, and the lights are always on.
Loutitt says the staff do an amazing job, but the situation is not appropriate for people like her.
"It's kind of an afterthought. You feel like an afterthought. You know it's not designated for you - you know you're in the wrong spot. It feels like it's not high on the radar of being important," she said.
There are only two of these telemetry beds in Royal University Hospital. There are more than 200 patients across Saskatchewan on the wait list.
Neurologists say something needs to be done
One of Loutitt's neurologists, Dr. Alexandra Carter, said a dedicated, four-bed telemetry unit is desperately needed. She said the tests can help them determine whether a patient is ready for surgery.
The surgery can prevent the seizures from worsening to potentially fatal levels. She dreads telling patients they'll have to wait two years or more for the treatment.
"We do what we can, and try to do it as quickly as we can. But it's something that we run into pretty much every day. It can be a little overwhelming with that," she said.
Dr. Jose Tellez is another neurologist who oversees epilepsy services, and agreed Saskatchewan should have a dedicated unit. Tellez has been working with Saskatchewan Health Authority officials. He says it won't cost a lot — a new unit in Halifax cost roughly $1.5 million.
"This is why we are talking to the health region. We're not really building something new. It's just accommodating some parts on the sixth floor, probably using the same staff, just building the unit and obviously, buying the equipment," Tellez said.
New children's hospital will have telemetry beds
Health Minister Jim Reiter said in a statement the new Jim Pattison Children's Hospital, which opens in 2019, will have a dedicated telemetry unit for kids. As for adults, he said they're monitoring the situation.
Loutitt said she's happy there will be good service for kids, but that won't change the situation for the hundreds of adults like her.
"It's so uncomfortable. It really is. And it's not about fault as it is about not realizing there's a better way of doing it for everyone involved," she said.
