Gay Clarke wonders why things didn’t go differently.
“I did everything I did,” he said.
She and her husband, Mark Clarke, lived in Kentville, NS, until her death at age 66 in February.
Mark died the day before he was supposed to have heart surgery that had already been delayed due to a lack of available ICU beds, Gay said.
The doctor was afraid Mark would contract COVID-19 if he stayed in the hospital, he said.
“COVID would probably have been better than what happened,” Gay said.
He said the whole process was exhausting. Mark went to the doctor for the first time with chest pain in July 2021.
Gay said months went by without a response from the doctor. Her husband called back in November as the pain got worse.
Gay and Mark were married for 16 years. Gay said she “had never been happier and neither had he.” (Facebook)
He had to wait until January to do another test that revealed he had two blockages and needed urgent surgery, Gay said.
He said they had no news of a doctor for two more weeks and that the procedure was scheduled for a month later.
Mark didn’t spend that much time. He suffered a fatal heart attack at home.
“I’m angry with the system,” Gay said. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
Surgeons are “morally distressed”
Dr. Gregory Hirsch, senior medical director of the surgical services network for Nova Scotia Health, said he anticipated that the strain the pandemic is putting on the health care system could have tragic results.
Hirsch said the biggest challenges in getting surgeries on time have been the lack of hospital beds and the fact that support staff such as nurses are retiring to COVID-19 units.
Hirsch, who specializes in vital thoracic organ surgery, said a common reason they can’t make a case is that there is no ICU bed available for the patient to recover.
“We’re doing everything we humanly can,” he said.
“But you get checkmate if there are no beds and no [health-care] human resources.”
Dr Gregory Hirsch said he understood the stress the pandemic put 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 the health authority. This represents an increase of 82 in February 2020 before the pandemic arrived, an increase of 33%.
Hirsch said this is putting even more pressure on a system that did not have the right capacity before COVID.
He said doctors remain concerned about patients waiting at his home to receive care.
“While we worked very hard to do the triage and do this dance so that there were no deaths or adverse consequences, we knew there would be and there have been,” he said.
“It’s not too much to say we’re morally distressed. It creates great anxiety that we can’t provide the timely care we need.”
“Synonym of community”
Mark Clarke was a prominent member of his community.
He was the president of the Kentville Lions Club when he died. He organized “jam sessions” at local events and performed for residents of long-term care facilities in the Annapolis Valley. He was active as an organizer of local politics.
“Everyone loved Mark,” Gay said, noting that so many people called in the weeks following his death that he finally disconnected the phone.
“He was the most understanding, affectionate and loving man I’ve ever met and he was genuine. And I think people saw him.”
Deputy Kody Blois pays tribute to Mark Clarke
Kody Blois stood up in the House of Commons to tell his fellow MPs about his late friend Mark Clarke.
Kings-Hants MP Kody Blois appeared in the Ottawa House of Commons the day after Mark’s death to celebrate who he called his friend.
“He was well known, loved and respected,” Blois told Parliament.
Blois told colleagues that the first meeting he had to discuss about his candidacy for federal politics was at Clarke’s house.
“There aren’t too many people in the Kenvtille-New Minas area who wouldn’t have known Mark Clarke’s name,” Blois said. “It was synonymous with community.”
Broken system
Gay Clarke, who now lives in New Minas, takes care of things day in and day out. Some days, or months, are harder than others, he said.
“May was a tough month,” he said. “It was my birthday, our wedding anniversary, Mother’s Day, the first day of camping, and we were great campers.”
He said Mark wouldn’t have wanted him to focus on the negatives, but that sometimes he can’t help himself.
Nova Scotia’s health care system is broken, Gay said, and she doesn’t think it will be fixed.
“I don’t know what the answer is and I think no one knows.”