Ottawa Wmc

Hello,

just beginning this journey...ang grateful fir insights and support here.  I have an appointment for orientation at Ottawa WMC this month.  What happens there and what are the next steps?  Any info is appreciated. 

You can see my timeline below. It took me essentially one year from referral to surgery. 

I hope your orientation goes well! Good luck on your journey! 

thanks - anxious to feet going so timeline helps me.  

Welcome! At orientation you will get information on the surgery and how the process works. Most people brought another person with them for support -this was encouraged. It is just a powerpoint presentation with statistics and approximate timelines,  etc.  You will get some booklets to take home and read.  Since I had already been on this site for a month or so there was very little that I did not already know.  But it was nice to have confirmation and the reference material and to be in a room with people who are in the same boat as me.

Ottawa, in my opinion, has one of the longest wait times in Ontario, so be prepared for the wait. After orientation it can be a while before they call you with a first assessment/bloodwork appointment, it took me 2.5 months.

Below is my timeline so far, I am still pre-op.  Feel free to message and/or friend me as well.  There are quite a few Ottawa folks on here - OH is a great place to find support and answers to your questions.  Best of luck to you in this process, come back and let us know how things are going.

Thanks for sharing.  The waiting is difficult.  Good luck to you!  

Hello, yes I agree that Ottawa probably has the longest wait times in Ontario. I really depends on what comorbis you might have, what tests they decide you will need and the time it will take to receive those tests. My best advice is to be your own best advocate and find a "go to" person, ie: nurse and keep in close contact with them. That is what I did, however I should mention that I am from Kingston and went through the Regional assessment Clinic at Hotel Dieu Hospital. As they are rather new the processes are not quite "perfect" yet. I was frustrated with some of the testing I had to wait for. I found a person I could call and who helped me expediate (the best she could). All this being said, it has been 14 month until I received my surgery date of March 20th. It will be 18 months overall when surgery takes place. I am not providing this to discourge you, as you may be far more expedient that I. I did have to have an abdomnial ultrasound, an endoscopy, sleep study, ekg, tons of blood work, and several visits to the social worker to convince them that my anxiety disorder was well controlled with medication and coping skills. Best of luck and keep us posted!!!

It has been a year since my referral went in and  I am still pre-op. I meet the surgeon in Ottawa on March 3. I am from Kingston so went through the centre here. Its been a long process :(

Taniagirlca, can I ask how long it took from your Nut/Beh appt. to your pre-surgical class?  I'm waiting for my call and I was just wondering... Thanks!

my last appointments were  in early January and then a week later I got a call from Ottawa with a date to meet the surgeon on Mar 3. I had my pre-surgery class last week (in KIngston ). Hope that helps.

Thank you so much.  This patience thing is killing me lol