Road To Recovery
Sometimes life never stops throwing us curve balls. A few days after my awesome wedding on September 6th I returned to my Wednesday night hockey routine. I noticed my skating wasn’t what I was used to, but I didn’t think anyone else noticed. I was wrong. A physiotherapist friend who was also playing commented after the game, “you don’t seem to have your usual speed or agility out there tonight.” I brushed it off to the first game of the season and not having sharpened my skates. In the following days and weeks symptoms steadily started to present themselves; numbness and tingling in my right great toe which progressed to my thigh, calf, then to the left leg, then my right leg started to get weak, and finally my left leg started to get weak as well. I consulted with my work colleagues and with my family doctor who made an urgent referral for an MRI. I’ll spare you all the technical jargon and details about clinical testing my colleagues and I performed on me in an attempt to fix the underlying cause of my progressive symptoms. Much to my surprise and despite all our efforts I realized I had fallen into the 10% category. This is the category of people that I tell my patients about who cannot be helped with physiotherapy alone. The irony is thick, but the reality was that I graduated with a physiotherapist degree, not an “immunity degree”. Ultimately, the MRI revealed the largest thoracic disc herniation my surgeon had ever seen and he expressed shock that I was still able to walk. On November 16th I had urgent surgery and my symptoms are now slowly subsiding. My prognosis is looking promising, but I know I have a long road of recovery ahead. Thank you to so many of you who have sent well wishes and support including my patients, friends, colleagues, family, and most of all to my wife Katie who reminds me daily of God’s presence. - Andrew Woelk Physiotherapist/Owner at SOS Physiotherapy
My "esteemed" colleagues made sure to "bling out" my rollator with a horn, rear-view mirror, and tassels.
Holiday Recipe
FUN & GAMES
Orange Cranberry Bread • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1 cup fresh cranberries • 1 teaspoon orange zest • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted • 3/4 cup fresh orange juice • 1 egg
• 2 cups white whole wheat flour • 1/2 cup sugar • 1 teaspoon baking powder
Grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, add white whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cranberries, and orange zest. Gently stir. In a separate medium-sized bowl, add coconut oil, fresh orange juice, and an egg. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir to combine everything together. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
CALL ONE OF OUR 3 LOCATIONS TODAY!
Made with FlippingBook Annual report