After consulting with my doctor, she put in a referral to the Ottawa Hospital for an appointment with a local surgeon. During the months of waiting for the meeting, I was researching about my condition on the internet which Google's snoopy bots took advantage of by pushing ads for the Shouldice Hospital in Toronto. I conceded and made a trip down to their free walk-in assessment clinic to see what they could do for me. I was initially put off by the expense of their mandatory 4-day stay which was an extra cost not covered by OHIP (Ontario's public health insurance program). However, after weighing the pros and cons by talking to some friends who had it done there and those that didn't, I decided to go for it. They also could take me within 6-weeks compared to the 6 to 8 month wait locally, meaning I could recover in time before heading off in September.
The Shouldice only performs hernia repair. The hospital was founded in 1945 by Dr. Earle Shouldice, who invented the technique for the Second World War. The natural tissue repair results in fast recovery time, which was ideal for men wanting to enlist but were disqualified by their medical condition.
Aside from the pain resulting from the operation, my 4 day stay at the hospital actually turned out to be a pleasant one. There was a diverse amount of guys there, from auto workers and manual labourers to people with desk jobs. They do over 20 operations a day, and it was neat how the patients tend to bond despite our different backgrounds because we were all going through the same thing. It was particularly cool how the guys who already had the operation done encouraged those who were headed for the knife the next day. While not at all comparable, I couldn't help thinking this must be somewhat similar to wartime camaraderie :)
Well, a week after the operation and I'm back on a bike doing short rides so I'm feeling all is a go for September. I've even booked my ticket!
No comments:
Post a Comment