Sask. mother worries daughter's hearing will suffer awaiting surgery
Until her daughter gets surgery, Jenn Bustin spends her nights trying to comfort the three-year-old girl.
"She wakes up screaming and I can't do anything to console her," Bustin, who lives in Spiritwood, Sask., told CBC Radio's Afternoon Edition.
Bustin's daughter, Emily Summers, sometimes wakes up bleeding from her ear.
One of the tubes placed in the girl's ears about two years ago keeps getting infected, Bustin explained. Now it's blocked by blood clots.
The bleeding began in April.
While doctors have tried to remove the tube from the girl's ear, Bustin said it's been determined that the procedure can't be done while Summers is awake.
"So she needs to be put to sleep, have the tube removed, the blood clot suctioned out, and then new tubes placed."
Bustin said even though her daughter has been suffering for months, somehow Summers wasn't actually put on a list for surgery until September.
The NDP brought up the girl's in question period on Wednesday, saying Summers has been suffering far too long.
Health Minister Jim Reiter said his office has contacted the family, and directed them to an online database that helps people find out which specialist has the shortest wait time.
In the meantime, Bustin said she hopes her daughter's surgery happens before permanent damage is done to her ears and her hearing.
