I was assessed as needing the surgery on February 17.  From February 17 to May 11 is 87 days.  (This didn’t include the span from December 1 until February 15, which was how long it took just to get the consult with the optometrist!) 

I had previously commented on the Ontario wait time web site.  Here’s a snippet from scorecard, most recently and with some history.  (In addition the measures for all hospitals and St. Mike’s, I’ve included Don Mills Surgical Unit, which I see on the list as a privatized alternative).

Although there’s some that might believe that privitization might fix the wait time issue, it looks like Ontario’s implemention of it doesn’t seem to make things much better.  

My wait time appears to have been within the ballpark, not only for St. Mike’s, but for the province.  I wonder why there’s variability month by month.

I tried 5 different contact lenses in the first half of 2005, until my optometrist said that the prescription was correct, but I had opacity in my eye. I returned to wearing glasses — something I haven’t done constantly since teenage years. By November, the vision was getting worse. It’s now definitely been diagnosed as a trauma-induced cataract, but I have to first get an official opinion from an opthamologist.

From early December, the first available referral was in April. A second try was in March. I decided to phone the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation — I have actually donated (small amounts) of money to the eye clinic, because Diana had a nearly-detached retina some years back. They got me onto the cancellation list for the eye clinic, so I have an appointment on February 12 — next Tuesday. This is just the consult, not the surgery.
In a movement in the right direction, the Province of Ontario is now monitoring wait times, and cataract surgeries are one procedure they monitor. Here’s what I think I’ll have to look forward to, after Tuesday.

I usually work at about 150% — that means that I can do my day job, and other volunteer stuff and graduate studies — but now I seem to be operating at about 80%. I may have to look to short-term disability. This is when it’s good to be working for a big company.