LITCHFIELD, Maine — Wendy Perkins said her daughter Emily was supposed to have a procedure called an endoscopy at Maine Medical Center later this month but said it was canceled to make room for COVID-19 patients.
"I feel really defeated as a mom. She's autistic, non-verbal. She can't really tell us 'I'm feeling better,'" said Perkins.
MaineHealth announced earlier this week it is postponing some elective surgeries and procedures across its entire system to free up resources to keep up with the surge in COVID-19 cases among those who are unvaccinated.
Some of those procedures include hip and knee replacements and non-emergency abdominal surgeries.
"I'm trying to be understanding, but to me, I think this is a priority," said Perkins.
The Litchfield mom said Emily started not feeling well a year ago when she began choking on food. She said doctors performed an endoscopy in June.
"They found something in everything," said Perkins.
Doctors put Emily on some medications and said another procedure needs to be done to see if the medicines are working.
"To get this close to the finish line and have them really tell us the race is pretty much over, I feel very defeated," said Perkins.
MaineHealth said surgeries and other non-urgent procedures at Maine Medical Center had been cut by 30%.
In a statement released Wednesday night, MaineHealth officials said:
MaineHealth today said it would continue to evaluate and cancel some non-urgent and elective procedures in its hospitals to free up resources to contend with a surge in COVID-19 cases among those who are unvaccinated.
“We’re not calling this a shutdown, but it is a dial back,” said Dr. Joan Boomsma, chief medical officer of MaineHealth. Boomsma said the exact number of surgeries and other procedures to be postponed can vary day-to-day depending on the demand for critical care. For example as recently as last week, surgeries and other non-urgent procedures at Maine Medical Center were cut by 30 percent.
Some examples of the surgeries that are being postponed include hip and knee replacements, some back surgeries and non-emergency abdominal or head and neck surgeries. In all cases, the procedures in question can be safely postponed, though Boomsma said the delays can have an impact on quality of life while a patient waits for care.
“We are in this situation because the Delta variant is surging among the unvaccinated,” said Boomsma. “The majority of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in our system have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus, and nearly all our COVID patients in critical care and on ventilators have not had their shots.”
Perkins said she was not given a new date and said she might have to try another hospital.