‘You think you see hope and then it sinks again’ Two months after cardiologist recommended heart surgery within days, Manitoba senior continues to wait By: Chris Kitching Posted: 6:20 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2025

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This article was published 25/03/2025 (190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

John Funk’s wait for heart surgery has been an emotional ride since a cardiologist told him almost two months ago they felt he required a double bypass for a significant artery blockage.

His wife, Liesa Funk, asked the physician how soon her 75-year-old husband should undergo surgery. The response left them shocked.

“He said probably in the next three to four days. I said, ‘Whoa,’” Liesa said. “That’s kind of a lot to take in. We thought maybe stents (were required).”

The Niverville couple thought they would get a call regarding surgery within days. When it didn’t come, Liesa called St. Boniface Hospital.

While speaking to a cardiac surgery nurse, she explained the three- to four-day timeline that was suggested.

“She said, ‘They need to stop telling people that,’” Liesa said.

She was told a date for a consultation with a surgeon would be pencilled in after staff returned from vacation in two weeks in February.

“I told her about Debbie, and I said, ‘I would prefer that didn’t happen to my husband,’” said Liesa, referring to the couple’s neighbour, Debbie Fewster, who died in October while waiting more than two months for heart surgery.

John Funk, who is Niverville’s former deputy mayor, later learned he was placed in the third and lowest priority category, which is reserved for patients who are considered stable enough to wait for surgery without “undue deterioration” in their health status.

“If someone needs (surgery) more urgently than John, then absolutely I’m for that, but communicate with us,” his wife said.

The grandfather does not yet have a date for his surgery. An appointment for a consultation with a surgeon was scheduled for April 9 and rescheduled for April 30.

The Funks received a call Tuesday to let them know the appointment was moved to April 16. The update came a day after his situation was raised during question period in the Manitoba legislature.

They hope the appointment will bring clarity about the surgery that is necessary and when it will happen.

“Your emotions run wild,” John said of the impact of the wait and uncertainty. “Your mood almost swings from day to day. You think you see hope and then it sinks again.”

“Your mood almost swings from day to day. You think you see hope and then it sinks again.”–John Funk

He said he leads an active, healthy life, but has a family history of heart conditions.

A significant blockage was diagnosed when he had an angiogram Jan. 28, leading to a wait for surgery that will soon enter its third month, the Funks said.

When Liesa spoke to a nurse days after the angiogram, she was told to take her husband to the hospital if anything serious happened to him.

On Feb. 14, John was sitting down at home when, suddenly, it felt like his heart was “jumping out” of his chest, he said.

After arriving at St. Boniface Hospital’s emergency room, he underwent an electrocardiogram and blood work, and later saw a doctor to cap a roughly 14-hour stay before returning home.

“Fortunately, he was OK,” Liesa said.

John learned he was placed in the elective category, or priority level three, for cardiac surgery.

“I said, ‘Elective? We’re not choosing to have this.’ Elective is definitely not a proper term,” Liesa said.

She said a nurse told them surgery typically happens in two to three days in an emergent case, and in two to three weeks in an urgent case.

In December, the median wait for “elective” cardiac surgery patients was 113 days, the government’s online wait times dashboard showed. John’s wait has so far been half of that length of time.

“I do believe there are many people going through the same situation, and something needs to change.”–Liesa Funk

A pan-Canadian benchmark specifies bypass surgery within two to 26 weeks, depending on urgency.

John researched options in the private sector and outside Manitoba to find out the cost of heart surgery and how quickly he could undergo a procedure.

His wife said they would have to do “a lot” more research and speak to a physician before seriously considering private surgery, which would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Liesa and the couple’s children have been advocating on her husband’s behalf. She has been “persistent” in obtaining updates from hospital staff. Her children emailed MLAs, including Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook.

Cook raised John’s situation during question period Monday, describing it as “eerily similar” to Fewster’s.

The Funks are seeking clarity, communication and a realistic timeline, said Cook, who claimed cardiac surgery patients in Manitoba face waits “far beyond” medically recommended timelines.

Asagwara said the former Tory government “dismantled” the cardiac centre of excellence at St. Boniface Hospital. The NDP, when elected in 2023, pledged to hire more staff and improve cardiac care at the hospital.

The Funks said an employee in the health minister’s office contacted them.

“We’re not just fighting for us,” Liesa said. “I do believe there are many people going through the same situation, and something needs to change.”

After failing a stress test, Fewster, 69, was told she required heart surgery within three weeks, two of her children told reporters on March 12.

They said the grandmother, who required a triple bypass, was told by a nurse that the hospital was “catching up” after summer holidays. She was waiting for a surgery date when she died.

Fewster’s death prompted calls for a law that would require health authorities to tell patients when they cannot provide life-saving treatment within the recommended period.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said 19 people died while on the wait list for cardiac surgery between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2024.

It wouldn’t be known if the death was related in any way to the reason for the planned surgery, a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said a clinic process identifies each patient’s level of need for surgery to ensure they are prioritized and get the care they need when they need it.

“When patients are assessed as urgent or emergent, they are admitted to the hospital directly to have their surgery done as an inpatient procedure,” the spokesperson said. “We encourage all patients to reach out to their care provider if they have questions or concerns about their care needs.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca