An Estevan woman who spent a lot of the past two years playing the healthcare waiting game is hoping an MRI service comes to St. Joseph's Hospital.

Emiliia Shtykova had surgery in July to remove two ovarian cysts, which she said first started causing her intense periods of pain in the summer of 2021.

Once the cause of her pain was identified, she was told her wait for surgery was a year and a half, and had a plane ticket booked to Crimea when she found out she could get it done this summer.

Shtykova said her wait to get an MRI appointment only took her a month.

"I had no idea it would be one month. I was expecting it to be like three, four, six months, as my friends told me this is how long they were waiting. And I have a friend still waiting for several months."

Though she said she had challenges getting to see specialists, she was able to enjoy a recent addition to the hospital in Estevan.

"I also had to go through the CT scan this summer, and it was pretty fast and it was great. It was right in Estevan, you don't have to drive anywhere."

Shytkova said driving to Regina can be a lot for people because of the time commitment, financial factors, and, for some, physical pain.

"I think it (MRI services being offered in Estevan) would be amazing because people won't have to wait too long," she said. "They won't have to take days off just to drive to Regina and back and wait there as well. It will just help people to be done faster and find out what is wrong."

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