Woman waits three months for fractured foot diagnosis in Yakutsk healthcare ordeal

A woman has reached out to the editorial team of Sakhapress after finding herself in an extremely difficult situation—though "difficult" may be putting it mildly, as the outlet notes. Natalia (name changed) visited a polyclinic in Yakutsk three months ago complaining of severe foot pain, only to be misdiagnosed repeatedly. Now, she faces surgery that could have been avoided had her fracture been identified in time.

"I first went to the polyclinic on January 20. My foot was in agonizing pain—I couldn't even put weight on it," Natalia recalls. A therapist initially diagnosed her with arthritis and sent her for blood tests. At her next appointment, the doctor again suggested arthritis. "Your test results are bad—high ESR, which means inflammation, and your hemoglobin is low. I'll refer you to a hematologist at the Medical Center," the physician told her.

When Natalia asked for an X-ray referral, she was refused on the grounds that only surgeons could issue such vouchers (though, as it turned out, therapists could do so as well).

To secure a referral to the Medical Center, she needed not only blood tests but also an abdominal ultrasound—but no appointments were available. She was offered a paid scan, which she declined: "I have the right to get this done for free. Why should I pay?" A month later, in late February, she finally saw a surgeon—only to be told that even patients with fractures struggled to get X-rays, let alone someone with arthritis. The surgeon sent her back to the therapist.

"It was a vicious cycle," Natalia says. "With each passing day, I felt more helpless. I could barely walk, my active life was falling apart, and my coworkers started giving me sideways glances. And the constant pain in my left foot…"

She didn't manage to see the therapist again until March 2—no earlier appointments were available. By then, her patience had worn thin, and the conversation grew heated. "Who wouldn't snap under this kind of pain, with no help from doctors? They wouldn't even give me sick leave, just kept saying, 'Lots of people have arthritis—they manage.' Meanwhile, they kept pushing me to get urine and stool tests. Under normal circumstances, fine, I'd do them. But when you're dragging your left leg in tears just to reach the therapist's office, and instead of an X-ray referral, they tell you to hand in urine and stool samples—it feels like mockery."

After voicing her frustration, she finally received an X-ray appointment for March 12. The results revealed a fracture in the third metatarsal bone of her left foot. "Turns out, I never had arthritis—it was a fracture that had been slowly healing, untreated, since January."

Yes, the fracture came as a complete shock to me. I didn't fall, I didn't twist my ankle, I didn't drop anything on my foot. But there was a moment when I was lifting heavy objects—and that might have caused the metatarsal fracture.

I don't even know how to describe how I felt when I found out. On one hand, I finally had an explanation for the pain. On the other, I'd endured more than three months of suffering that could have been avoided if the doctors had been more attentive.

On April 30, I have an appointment with a trauma specialist, and then we'll know what comes next. Most likely, I'll need surgery—the bone healed improperly, and that could have been prevented if I'd been given an X-ray right away and received the correct diagnosis in time. And, of course, either way, I'll face a long rehabilitation. Yes, my general practitioner promised to refer me to an orthopedist, but she still hasn't called—even though I first saw her back on January 20.

This is the state of medical care we're dealing with—how can we even talk about healthcare accessibility?! As someone who rarely sees doctors, I trusted my GP completely when she told me I had arthritis. When I asked why the pain was so unbearable, she just said it was all because of the arthritis. Maybe I waited too patiently for a referral, endured the pain for too long. I should have taken a different approach—at the very least, I could have contacted my insurance company.

Consider this an open letter to Yakutia's Minister of Health. And to my readers: don't tolerate pain. Don't let yourself, like I did, get stuck in a vicious cycle. Know your rights under Federal Law No. 323-FZ, On the Fundamentals of Healthcare for Citizens in the Russian Federation. This law guarantees patients' rights, doctors' responsibilities, and the principles of medical care—we are all entitled to free, quality healthcare.

Wishing everyone health and kindness!