Hawke's Bay great-grandma limping on broken knee for two years ecstatic as surgery booked in

Elaine Morgan will finally be able to do the things she loves after she undergoes a knee operation. Photo / Warren Buckland

"Not to be cancelled unless absolutely necessary."

They're seven words that mean the world to 89-year-old Elaine Morgan.

Morgan, who has become a self-proclaimed "miserable old git" because of a debilitating knee injury, has been limping on a kneecap broken in three places for more than two years.

But after sharing her story with Hawke's Bay Today, Morgan heard on Monday that her wait for a surgery date is finally over.

Morgan's injury was misdiagnosed by an orthopedic registrar in December 2018 while she was on morphine, masking the true extent of the injury.

She complained to Hawke's Bay DHB that the misdiagnosis resulted in ACC rejecting her claim for an operation.

"I have been turned from a gym-loving, ballroom/disco dancer, often feeding and running elderly around, a fun-loving great-grandma, with the children staying with me, to a miserable, useless, bent old git, probably not fit for surgery now," she previously told Hawke's Bay Today.

Morgan said she had more than two years "taken away, that's precious time I could have spent with my great-grandchildren".

"I have had many a fall now, because my knee gives way, I have many bruises, and I dread waking up in the morning because the pain makes me scream."

But on Monday, Morgan told Hawke's Bay Today the good news.

"I finally had a face-to-face with the DHB on Thursday last week," she said.

"They gave me a surgery date. I am to have my surgery on July 28, and it has a star next to it which means it is not to be cancelled unless absolutely necessary.

"I am really really happy."