Waiting for surgery; living a life on hold--a continuous struggle against a faceless system.

This interpretive-phenomenological study examined the lived experience of being on the waiting list for arthroplastic surgery of the knee or hip. Interviews reveal that respondents experience suffering in different ways: illness-, caring- and life-suffering. Suffering leads to a struggle in order to have their caring needs met and the struggle is often fruitless-against a faceless enemy-"the system". No one is there to answer their plea or the frustration they experience. This in combination with their present life situation may lead to a disrupted self-image. Finding or creating meaning in suffering appears to be a crucial issue in the struggling process. Respondents who are able to preserve or create meaning in life are able to reformulate their life-world and live a full life, in spite of severe pain and disability.