Victoria’s Dillyn Burrows will have to wait until at least the new year as an October surgery date was pushed back
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Dillyn Burrows was really hoping she’d be able to participate in her high school’s spring musical next year, after being scheduled for spinal surgery in October to treat her progressive scoliosis.
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But the Victoria teenager, who has already waited 2½ years for the procedure, was dealt a setback this week when the Provincial Health Services Authority informed her that she had been bumped and will now have to wait until at least January.
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“We have a fall play and a spring musical, and I’ve had to completely put off the idea of doing the fall play and, most likely, the spring musical,” she said.
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“It’s just hard because I’m going into Grade 11 and I have to focus on school. I’ve been preparing all summer to get ready for the big surgery I was going to have in October, and I was so mentally ready, and then they cancel, and all this stuff I’ve been preparing for is out the window.”
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Set to turn 17 in the new year, Dillyn was diagnosed three years ago with scoliosis, a spinal deformity that can vary in severity. In Dillyn’s case, it is progressive and makes her spine curve more and more as the years pass. Her condition has gradually worsened to the point where her mom, Rebecca Burrows, says she is in significant pain most of the time.
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In a letter last November, Dillyn’s physician, Dr. Marina Uzelac, urged the health authority to expedite her care because her condition was worsening with every growth spurt and hurting her ability to go to school and participate in daily activities.
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Uzelac said symptoms included difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and persistent spinal pain.
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Rebecca said the surgery would consist of putting two metal rods in Dillyn’s spine to help keep her back straight and would alleviate much of her pain.
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“The surgeon described it as like the world’s strongest paperclip. It’s a huge surgery, but after she’ll be great. She’ll be good to go.”
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Dillyn was born with CHARGE syndrome, a group of congenital anomalies, and spent six weeks in neo-natal intensive care after being born. She has also had about a dozen surgeries over her first 16 years of life, including operations on her eyes and nose.
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Rebecca, an Oak Bay business owner, said trips to the Lower Mainland for Dillyn’s medical appointments and consultations have cost the family thousands of dollars, with expenses for an average trip coming out at around $2,000.
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“It’s just been a financial burden, but more than that, it’s just impacting her emotionally,” said Rebecca.
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She said that her daughter backed out of a $6,500 school trip to England this fall because she thought her surgery was going ahead in October.
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And Rebecca backed out of a surgery she had been waiting 18 months for because she assumed she’d need that time to support her daughter post-surgery.
