Hala Chamas was visiting family in Chadstone on election day when she slipped and fell on a nature strip, badly breaking her right ankle.
Her daughter called an ambulance. Mrs Chamas said it felt like she was waiting for hours.
"I was not doing well at all," she told ABC Radio Melbourne's Drive program.
"I have heart issues, I was hyperventilating, I kept screaming from pain."
Some local construction workers helped lift Mrs Chamas into the back of a people mover so she could be taken to Monash Hospital at Clayton.
In hospital Mrs Chamas was told three bones had been broken in her ankle.
The next day she was transferred to Dandenong Hospital, so she could be operated on by the orthopaedic department.
The lengthy wait for an ambulance was just the beginning of the delays the Melbourne grandmother experienced.
Eighteen days after her accident she is still waiting for surgery.
"They said last Thursday maybe [we can operate], fast and we'll see… never happened," she said.
"Saturday, same. Sunday, same. Monday, same."
Initially Mrs Chamas had to wait for swelling to go down before doctors would consider operating.
In recent days Mrs Chamas has been told Dandenong Hospital has been unable to proceed with the surgery because higher priority patients have come in.
While she said she understood life-threatening cases need to be prioritised, she said the hospital needed more resources.
"The problem is with our government funding ... hospitals are full of people waiting, not just me," she said.
"We are a wealthy country.
"I felt like I was in a rural area in some third-world country when I was put in a boot of a car to come to the hospital."
Mrs Chamas said she was worried the delayed surgery could have permanent repercussions.
"I don't know if I'm going to be walking normally again," she said.
"I have no idea what's going on."
A Monash Health spokesperson said the public health service was experiencing "an increased number of presentations and need for emergency care".
"Wait times may vary, as all patients are seen in order of clinical urgency," the spokesperson said.
"The most seriously sick or injured will always be cared for first."
The spokesperson said they understood waiting in hospital can be stressful.
"We thank the community for their patience and our teams who are working tirelessly to provide the best care to each and every person who comes to us as soon as possible."
The ABC has also contacted Ambulance Victoria and the state government for comment.
