Malcolm McDonald said he had also taken out loans to help pay for the $30,000 operation.
"I’m just not prepared to be put off and put off. That’s why I thought I would just bite the bullet and go private."
He had worked hard all of his life, earned well and paid all his taxes like everyone else, he said.
"And then suddenly we’re having to fork out and go private, because we’re just being bumped off the list all the time — and it’s really not acceptable."
And it is not the first time it has happened to him.
His first surgery was for his spine, and he borrowed money to have the $52,000 operation done privately as well.
"When I was younger, I played premiership rugby as tighthead prop.
"And, of course, the symptoms of that manifest themselves when you get older, unfortunately.
"So I needed a lumbar operation because my L4 and L5 weren’t aligned correctly.
"I had to go private because the waiting list was horrendous. I was in such agony that death would have been a better option."
Now that he had recovered from the lumbar operation, he was ready to have his hip replaced but had been told it could take up to four years.
"Well, when you’re 77, waiting for four years is a bit laughable.
"And so, once again, I’m just borrowing money to pay the surgeon."
It meant he had to keep working at 77 years old so he could pay off the loans he had taken out to pay for the surgeries.
One of his greatest concerns was that he was putting himself in debt at a time when he should be looking after his savings, because "every penny" counted at his stage of life, he said.
But he was doing it because he was in the "twilight" of his life, and he wanted the remaining years of his life to be quality — not hobbling around, suffering with a really sore hip.
"Quality is paramount, and this is the whole thing — we can’t sit around waiting on a waiting list on an if or a maybe.
"One of our friends who’s younger than me, he waited nearly four years, and every time we saw him, he looked terrible."
Up until recently, Mr McDonald was in so much pain he had been reduced to using crutches and a wheelchair.
"We’ve managed to get the pain management sorted out, and I’m only occasionally using a crutch now.
"But the longer I leave it, the lack of mobility is likely to cause other health complications — muscle degeneration, all sorts of things."
He hoped his hip replacement would happen in March 2026.
Have you been affected by excessive surgery wait times? Email reporters@odt.co.nz
