Young mother, 23, suffering from debilitating pain is denied potentially life-changing surgery after being told she was ‘too young’
- Young mother with chronic pain wants surgery
- Drew Khan, 23, canceled her surgery
- She needs a hysterectomy to take the pain away
- She was told she is “too young” for the operation
A young mother who struggled for years with debilitating pain is now battling with the health system to undergo potentially life-changing surgery.
Drew Khan has struggled with women’s health issues for years; began puberty at age 9, became pregnant with her daughter at age 14, and suffered multiple miscarriages and a nonviable pregnancy before giving birth to her son.
That’s when she started to suffer from chronic pain, and her struggles forced her to see a surgeon.
“I have endometriosis, I have ovarian cysts and I have pretty much a lot of my organs – my gut, my ovaries, my bladder and uterus – all stuck together,” said Ms Khan on A current situation.
Drew Khan (pictured) is begging the Mid North Coast Local Health District to let her have the surgery
She has tried a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) machine, pain medication, and surgery, but none of these have helped the pain.
The 23-year-old takes a cocktail of painkillers every day to get through it, including 14 Endone, 20 Tapentadol and morphine tablets weekly.
She is often wheelchair bound due to the pain.
“If I don’t take painkillers, I’ll be in the hospital,” she said.
Her doctors say a hysterectomy is a solution to her pain, but just days before she was due for surgery, Coffs Harbor Hospital called Ms Khan to tell her the surgery would be cancelled.
“First it was, ‘You’re too young,’ then it was, ‘We don’t believe it was the uterus that caused the pain.’ Now a letter says, “We don’t believe we’ve explored all options for managing your pain,” Khan said.
Ms Khan and her family were devastated by the decision, while her daughter Elena was on the verge of tears when she spoke about it.
“I feel like I want to hug her so tight until she gets better. I don’t want to see her struggling like this every moment of my life,” she said.
The pain often leaves Mrs Khan (pictured) with no choice but to use a wheelchair
Part of the reason behind the decision to call off the surgery was the possibility that she might want more children in the future as a hysterectomy would prevent that.
However, Mrs. Khan says she knows what she’s getting herself into, having already had her hoses tied.
‘Give me the choice of what I want to do with my body. That’s my right. I want to get better for my kids and for myself,” she said.
A spokesperson for the local health district of Coffs Harbor Hospital apologized “for the distress this patient has experienced due to the cancellation of the planned surgical procedure” in a statement to the program.
“Mid North Coast Local Health District met with the patient and their partner and consulted a number of specialists, including the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists,” they said.
“The district will continue to support and advise the patient and his partner on further treatment, pain management and surgical options.”