Sharon Doward was enjoying a holiday with her husband when she began feeling back pain that hit her hard and fast. Within a few months, the pain was so intense that she could barely eat, sleep or walk.
She had to take a leave from her job and found herself isolated at home; no longer able to do what she loved most – walking her dog. Her active life had come to a sudden halt.
An MRI performed at London Health Sciences Centre revealed a cyst on Sharon’s spine that required surgery. When Sharon met with Dr. Parham Rasoulinejad, who would be performing the surgery, he immediately put her mind at ease with his expertise and his caring bedside manner.
Dr. Rasoulinejad and his team performed the complex six-hour surgery to remove the cyst and free Sharon’s spinal nerves, which had become badly pinched and damaged as a result of the cyst. He took the time to explain the surgery in detail to Sharon’s husband, who was anxiously waiting outside the operating room.
When Sharon woke up, she was relieved and grateful to discover the excruciating nerve pain was finally gone.
“Before the surgery, it felt like my spine was being strangled – I’ve never experienced pain like that in my life” Sharon said. “To wake up and no longer experience that was such an immense relief.”
Over the next week while Sharon was in the hospital, Dr. Rasoulinejad would greet her every day with a smile to see how she was healing, while the nurses and physiotherapists worked with her to get her back on her feet.
"They were so good at the hospital. They patiently showed me how to move again post-surgery. I honestly can’t say enough about how grateful I am," Sharon said.
Within just a few weeks of the surgery, Sharon was outside walking again. Now, she walks her dog daily along the Thames River and cherishes every second of it.