“They don’t care:” Hamilton senior left five months without a voice
Source: www.thespec.com Author: Joanna Frketich Donna Thombs has not uttered a word in five long months. The east Hamilton senior is desperate to get her voice back, but has so far faced a waiting list with no room for compassion at St. Joseph's hospital. "It's terrible," mouths Thombs. "They don't care." The only sound is wheezing as she attempts to talk with gestures along with slowly mouthing out words using exaggerated movements. It takes multiple attempts to get across even the simplest words. Often, she shakes her head and just gives up. Credit: Hamilton Spectator Donna Thombs has been living in silence for five months as she awaits an operation to restore her voice following surgery for throat cancer. "Try not talking for one day," she mouths. "I've done it for months. Now, it's really starting to get to me." Thombs says the surgical procedure essential to giving her a voice takes roughly 20 minutes. She came achingly close when it was scheduled for Aug. 26, only to have it cancelled. As of Friday, Thombs had been given no information by the office of head and neck surgeon Dr. Michael Gupta on how much longer she'd have to wait. She'd been told her case was a low priority despite the safety concerns of a woman in her 80s living alone with no voice to call for help. Her relatives phone to check on her but her only way to communicate with them is to knock once to let [...]