For more than two years, Dillyn Burrows and her family have been waiting for a surgery they hoped would finally address her scoliosis. Now, the 16-year-old is facing another delay. Dillyn first noticed something was wrong about three years ago when she saw that her hips looked uneven. After being sent for X-rays, she was diagnosed with significant scoliosis, a condition that causes the spine to curve abnormally and can progress as a child grows. The condition has caused ongoing pain and has taken a toll on her daily life. “It’s painful on my mental health and it’s also painful on my body,” Dillyn said. After roughly two and a half years on the surgical wait list, the family was told earlier this month that Dillyn would have surgery in October. The procedure is expected to take about 12 hours and involve inserting rods into her spine to correct the curvature. The family began preparing for October, only to receive a call Monday telling them the surgery had been postponed until 2027. “I picked it up right away and definitely not the news we wanted to hear,” said Dillyn’s mother, Rebecca Burrows. Dillyn says she’s frustrated after waiting so long. “I want it to be over with,” she said. Her mother is particularly concerned about the timing of the surgery as Dillyn gets older. “There is a timeframe for the surgery,” Rebecca said. “It can’t be done once her growth plates have closed.” Rebecca says the family has spent years travelling back and forth to Vancouver for appointments and wants answers about why her daughter’s surgery has been postponed again. In a statement, B.C. Children’s Hospital said it recognizes how stressful the wait for spinal surgery is for patients and families. The hospital said patients on the wait list are offered ongoing support from a multidisciplinary team, which may include pain management, physiotherapy and other services. It said it has also optimized operating-room time for spine surgeries where feasible and continues to prioritize the recruitment and retention of providers. B.C. Children’s Hospital also said in its statement that, as the only facility in B.C. providing highly specialized pediatric spinal care, it is “responsible for providing care to the sickest children first.” Surgeons regularly review the wait list based on each patient’s condition, medical history and urgency, the hospital said, which can cause individual wait times to fluctuate. The hospital said it has followed up directly with Dillyn’s family and arranged an appointment with her surgeon. But Rebecca says the supports described in the statement have not been offered to her daughter during the lengthy wait. “Dillyn has never been offered pain management, physiotherapy or any multidisciplinary support while waiting for her surgery,” she said. Rebecca says the only suggestion the family received for managing Dillyn’s discomfort was yoga. The family is now waiting for the appointment with Dillyn’s surgeon and hoping for a clearer path forward. “I need to fight for my daughter and I need to get her the surgery that we were promised,” Rebecca said. For Dillyn, the message is much simpler. “I just want it to get done.”
