Maritimes — It’s often said that good things come to those who wait. Or, at least that’s the hope of Maritimers who are enduring the longest wait times for health care in the country.
But, the protracted wait time for specialist appointments is having an unanticipated side-effect. The heightened anticipation, extended fixations and unmet expectations are causing Maritimers to develop secret crushes on the doctors they just can’t wait to meet.
“Hmmm, I wonder what he looks like,” 62-year-old Summerside resident Pauline LeBlanc fantasized dreamily. “Or it could be a ‘she’! I don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl! Oh, I hope they have a lot of pretty degrees and decades of diagnostic experience!
“I just can’t wait to finally meet them! I hope they like me… I mean why wouldn’t they, but you just never know. Ahhh! I’m so excited!”
Last Wednesday, the Fraser Institute released their yearly review of health care wait times across Canada. On average, Maritimers wait the longest in the country — 38.8 weeks from referral to treatment in New Brunswick, 34.8 weeks in Nova Scotia, and 31.4 weeks in Prince Edward Island. The national average is just 20 weeks.
“Maybe they’ll have an accent! That would be… you know… exotic,” smiled Andre Vautour of Moncton. “They’ll be telling me my diagnosis and I’ll be so caught up in the sound of their voice that I’ll need them to repeat it! Ha! I guess I’m just a romantic. Absence makes the heart grow fonder you know, at least it does for me and my cardiologist.”
Truro senior Sandra Cormier says she feels like she’s been in an online relationship and she’s about to meet him for the first time. “I’ve heard so much about him from his receptionist, I feel like I already know him! I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I googled him right away after I got my referral! I know — stalker alert, am I right? I can’t help myself! I’m so excited for my appointment in just 33 weeks!
“The anticipation is killing me… literally!”