It’s
just a week since I had back surgery in the Pain Clinic in Vancouver. For six months, I had needed it although I
hadn’t realized my condition was that serious.
I suffered sincere pain in my right ankle, my shin, and thigh and across
my lower back that made walking so difficult that at times I was actually
crawling. Numerous friends had
recommended what had helped for them. I
tried a physiotherapist who was an expert in acupuncture, then afterwards I
went several times to a chiropractor. It
became obvious that their treatments did not address the source of my problem,
so we decided wisely, to visit our family doctor who could orchestrate the
tests leading to a diagnosis. That was
wise indeed, for I had spinal stenosis, or pinching of the sciatic nerve. The apertures through which this nerve passed
through the vertebrae had narrowed over the years, and the nerve was being
severely pinched. The associated pain was making it impossible to walk in a straight
line. This was a problem at pipe band
practice and piping engagements.
When
one is familiar with our health care system and its long waiting periods, it’s
easy to understand that it would be an eternity before I could be helped to any
degree at all. An appointment to have an
MRI done, would require about six months, and for surgery, another eighteen
months. An appointment was made for the
MRI, and I would certainly have to suffer during the wait and then afterwards,
for surgery.
Ruby,
my wife, decided it was appropriate to pray and ask God to intervene. She did so, and was inspired to phone the
hospital receptionist to suggest if there just so happened to be a postponement,
would she give us a call, because we would be free to come in anytime. We continued in prayer, and in a few minutes
the phone rang. We were asked if we
could come in an hour for the MRI. That
was our answer to prayer.
Within
days of the test, our doctor requested an appointment in which he could discuss
the results from this valuable test. He
outlined the problem and the solution…to take the necessary medication and wait
approximately a year and a half for the medical system to find a time for back
surgery, or to elect for surgery at a private pain clinic for which a large fee
would be required and surgery could be performed in a week.
Our
solution to the problem was of necessity, to decide upon surgery at the private
clinic. An appointment was made with the
pain specialist, for the next week, with a subsequent appointment to see the
neurosurgeon the following week, to evaluate the need for surgery. Surgery was then set for a week.
The
surgery was performed at 12:30 in the afternoon. At 3:00 I was in a wheelchair and whisked out
to our son-in-law’s car, and driven home to White Rock, to recuperate, which I
am doing presently. Tomorrow, I will
have the metal staples removed by our own family doctor. One can hardly believe the improvement. Of course, I have to wait patiently for
entire healing, but I can appreciate the freedom from pain in this short time, and
the improvement in getting up or lying down.
Two small H-shaped wedges, each known as a DIAM, were inserted between
adjoining vertebrae, to separate them sufficiently to free the sciatic nerve
and eliminate the pinching that was causing referred pain along the course of
the sciatic nerve.
The
decision to have surgery done immediately was wise in that I can continue living
a normal active life, rather than wasting years waiting for the health system
to accommodate my need. And, I would not
be requiring continued medication during which time I would be developing a
dependence for it. I’m looking forward
to my return to band practice and accepting invitations to pipe for an
occasional wedding or memorial service.
