Gay Clark continues to wonder why things didn’t happen differently.
“I did everything-if,” she said.
She and her husband Mark Clark lived in Cantville, NS, until his death at the age of 66 in February.
Mark died the day before he was due to have heart surgery, which had already been postponed due to a lack of free beds in the intensive care unit, Gay said.
The doctor feared that Mark would become infected with COVID-19 if he remained in the hospital, she said.
“COVID would probably be better than what happened,” Gay said.
She said the whole process was exhausting. Mark first went to a doctor with chest pain in July 2021.
Gay said months had passed without a response from the doctor. Her husband called again in November as the pain worsened.
Gay and Mark have been married for 16 years. Gay said she “has never been happier, nor has he.” (Facebook)
He had to wait until January for another test, which revealed he had two blockages and urgently needed surgery, Gay said.
She said they had not heard from a doctor for another two weeks and the procedure was scheduled for a month later.
Mark didn’t last that long. He had a fatal heart attack at home.
“I’m angry at the system,” Gay said. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
Surgeons are “morally upset”
Dr Gregory Hirsch, senior medical director of the Nova Scotia Health Surgical Network, said he expected the strain on the pandemic on the health system to have tragic results.
Hirsch said the biggest challenges to performing the operations on time were the lack of hospital beds and support staff such as nurses taken to the COVID-19 wards.
A common reason they can’t close the case is that there is no intensive care bed available to rehabilitate the patient, said Hirsch, who specializes in surgery on vital organs in the chest.
“We do everything we can in a human way,” he said.
“But you will matte if there are no beds or not [health-care] Human Resources.”
Dr Gregory Hirsch said he understood that the strain of the pandemic on Nova Scotia’s healthcare system could have tragic consequences. (CBC)
There are currently 107 people scheduled for heart surgery in Nova Scotia, according to health officials. That’s more than 82 in February 2020, before the pandemic hit – a 33 percent increase.
Hirsch said this puts even more pressure on a system that did not have adequate capacity before COVID.
He said doctors continue to be concerned about patients waiting at home for care.
“Although we work very hard to sort and make this dance so that there are no deaths or adverse consequences, we knew there would be and there have been,” he said.
“It is not too much to say that we are morally disturbed. This creates a great deal of concern that we cannot provide the timely care we need. ”
Community Synonym
Mark Clark was a prominent member of his community.
He was president of the Kentville Lions Club when he died. He organizes “jam sessions” at local events and gives concerts for residents of long-term care facilities in the Annapolis Valley. He is active as an organizer in local politics.
“Mark was loved by everyone,” Gay said, noting that so many people called in the weeks after his death that she eventually turned off the phone.
“He was the most understanding, caring, loving man I have ever met, and he was real. And I think people saw that.
MP Cody Blois pays tribute to Mark Clark
Cody Blois stood in the House of Commons to tell his fellow MPs about his late friend Mark Clark.
Kings-Hants MP Cody Blois stood in the House of Commons in Ottawa the day after Mark’s death to celebrate who he called his friend.
“He was well known, liked and respected,” Blois told parliament.
Blois told his colleagues that the first meeting he had to discuss his candidacy for federal policy was at Clark’s home.
“There aren’t too many people in the Kenvtile-New Minas area who don’t know the name Mark Clark,” Blois said. “He was synonymous with community.”
Broken system
Gay Clark, who now lives in New Minas, accepts things day after day. Some days or months are harder than others, she said.
“It seemed to be a difficult month,” she said. “It was my birthday, our wedding anniversary, Mother’s Day, the first day of camping – and we were great campers.”
She said Mark wouldn’t want her to focus on the negatives, but sometimes she couldn’t help herself.
Nova Scotia’s health care system is broken, Gay said, and she does not believe it will be repaired.
“I don’t know what the answer is and I don’t think anyone knows.”
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