Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Hospitals have deferred procedures to free up beds amid coronavirus wave, leaving some patients in prolonged pain
Gayle Nourse avoided surgery on her left knee as long as she could - having endured a right knee replacement last year - but when the pain became intolerable in September, it was too late.
A COVID-19 wave consumed hospital beds, forcing patients with urgent but not emergent conditions to wait. Nourse made it into pre-op at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids on Sept. 13 before her procedure was canceled last minute. Three months later, she is still waiting - with cortisone shots providing stopgap relief but not the mobility to play with her grandkids.
"I just want my quality of life back," said Nourse, 57, of Shoreview. "It's not like I was Wonder Woman."
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