Manitoba Paramedic gets spinal surgery in Germany, avoiding long wait

Manitoban travels for surgery to skip lengthy wait Michelle Gerwing has the story of a Manitoba man who flew to Germany for spinal surgery to avoid a years long wait in Winnipeg.

WINNIPEG — Patrick McMullan still has limited mobility, but the 27-year-old paramedic is happy to be out walking with his dogs.

In June he injured his back on-the-job and knew immediately the injury was going to affect his ability to work.

“Unfortunately, I was stuck in a position where I had to do an awkward lift and as soon as I performed the lift I knew right away something wasn’t right with my back. My legs went numb. There was lots of pain,” he told CTV News Monday.

McMullan returned to Winnipeg two weeks ago from a trip to Germany where he got a spinal implant procedure.

He decided to look for other options after learning his treatment options in Canada would be either a disc replacement or a spinal fusion.

“Once I got the MRI, and just speaking with other people about what my plan and wait time was going to be here in Manitoba, I knew that staying in Manitoba wasn’t going to lead me to be able to go back to work on the ambulance,” he said.

The wait time in Manitoba for a disc replacement, he was told, could have been three to five years.

“In that time I was also told that my symptoms could get worse and I could develop permanent damage, basically it was kind of like time was ticking,” said McMullan.

That’s when he started looking at other countries for other surgery options and to see what other technology was out there.

He landed on a spine clinic in Germany and sent his information.

“We received a plan the next day,” said McMullan. “They had everything laid out, the schedule, the price, everything was so well organized and we basically just had to say yes or no.”

The surgery was $50,000. With the help of a community fundraiser, the Ste. Agathe resident was able to cover most of the bill andbook the surgery for September 30, 2021.

During his wait, McMullan said his pain intensified, he couldn’t feel his legs and had lost some control of his bladder. He also needed help getting out of bed and getting dressed.

“The last two weeks before I left for Germany I was pretty much stuck in a walker or a wheelchair,” he said.

Despite the cost McMullan said he would have gone through with it anyways, and thanks to his amazing neighbours who donated to the fundraiser, he’s able to cover other recovery costs.

“Workers’ comp, my insurance, none of that covers leaving the country. All that gets cut off as soon as you decide to seek healthcare in a different country,” he said.

Still, McMullan said going to Germany for the procedure was worth it, because it was the best medical experience he’s ever had and the results have been remarkable.

“I have to pinch myself every morning because I can’t believe I had spine surgery a month ago and I am walking and I am up and around this good already,” he said.

“If you are not comfortable with what your wait is going to be in Manitoba, there definitely are other options.”

For the next three months he said he needs to take it easy, then it’s another three months of physio and exercising before he’ll be able to go back to work on the truck.

“I am hopefully anticipating by April I’ll be able to return to work on the ambulance which is much, much sooner than it would’ve been had I stayed in Manitoba.”

McMullan wanted to be clear that his issue here in Canada was not with any healthcare workers.

“It’s above, it’s the money that we are being given, you know? We don’t have the capabilities to provide the care that we should be providing to patients,” he said.

“All the healthcare workers I had to deal with have been absolutely amazing. Like, everyone from the doctors, the nurses, my physiotherapist. Everyone was super awesome and supportive when I was doing treatment plans here in Canada for my back injury.”

A Shared Health spokesperson tells CTV News it continues to acknowledge the strain that COVID has had not just on patients who have contracted the virus and their families, but to others who have had surgeries and procedures postponed while the health system responds to the pandemic. This includes patients awaiting spinal surgeries.

“We also acknowledge the effects of the pandemic has further complicated pre-existing staffing challenges.Work to recruit, retain and train more staff is ongoing,” the statement reads.

“Patient cases for spinal fusion surgeries are prioritized based on their ability to maintain function, with urgency dictated by specific medical symptoms and signs being displayed by the patient.”

The Shared Health spokesperson said it can be as much as two years for non-urgent cases to be completed.

Shared Health was also unable to provide information on the number of Manitobans who seek out this care elsewhere.