‘Do your research, advocate’: Alberta radio host with brain cyst says long consult wait shows rural care gaps

A longtime Medicine Hat radio host Kim Johnston says he never imagined he’d be forced off the air by a medical crisis that left him struggling to speak. But after months of jaw tremors and trouble forming words, Johnston finally received an MRI — and with it, a diagnosis.

“In October of this year it revealed a growth at the base of my brain, and it’s called an arachnoid cyst,” Johnston said.

Johnston booked a neurosurgery consult immediately, but he says the wait time he was given was far longer than expected. While the Cumming School of Medicine outlines a five-day window for a neurology consult, Johnston says he was told he’d be waiting roughly 120 days.

As the delay stretches on, Johnston says his condition continues to worsen. He can no longer open his jaw wide enough to eat solid f