4 minute read
Backbeat
Injury sends Port Moody musician ’s health on downward spiral
Back pain by itself can be debilitating. For Terry Banks of Port Moody, a nagging lower back sprain was only the start of his problems. By the time he made his way to Royal Columbian Hospital’s emergency department weeks later, he was struggling with a number of complications. Now shivering and desperate for help, Terry wondered what was happening to him.
“Originally, the pain felt like it was on the lower left side of my back,” recalls Terry about the start of his troubles, which he attributes to some heavy pulling at work. “As all these other symptoms started to come along, the pain sort of shifted over to more of the middle of my lower back. It felt like my intestines were being twisted.” Over a number of weeks, his symptoms included constipation,
Terry Ban ks is grateful for the care he received at Royal Columbian and wants to use his talents as a musician to give bac k through the Foundation .
frequent urination, elevated blood sugar levels, weight loss and constant discomfort. A course of antibiotics for a prostate infection didn’t bring relief. Disc danger
After finding blood in his urine, he was referred for a CT scan. That’s when Terry went to Royal Columbian’s emergency department. It was there he started shaking and had to be wrapped in warm blankets.
“When I looked at him, you could see his pulse was quite fast, but there was no (unusual) temperature,” says emergency physician Dr. Joe Haegert. “He was alert but obviously in a lot of distress and was having a hard time moving.”
Dr. Haegert suspected an infected disc, and testing revealed it was a Staph aureus infection. Terry was admitted to hospital and put on a new antibiotic. “The concern with the Staph aureus discitis is that if unchecked, untreated with antibiotics or other treatments, it can continue to swell and cause an abscess,” notes Dr. Haegert, “which can compress the spinal cord and could eventually lead to paraplegia. Terry was fortunate that he came in time.” Three months later, and Terry wells up as he thinks about all that happened.
“You don’t come that close to being that sick and not be grateful to the people that saved your life,” he says. “Everybody just seemed to really care and really wanted to see me get better. I feel pretty damn lucky.”
Internal medicine , external growth
When Dr. Matt Bernard had his first up-close look at the amount of work going into Royal Columbian Hospital’s redevelopment plans, he found it eyeopening. An internal medicine specialist with a deep interest in clinical teaching, Dr. Bernard has also now taken on the role of bridge-builder between the hospital’s doctors and the physical transformation that’s taking place around them.
Foundation: What are your responsibilities as the physician lead for the redevelopment project? MB: I think my key role is to engage the physician body, bring them into the conversation, ensure they have opportunities to have their opinions heard, and make sure we are all working towards the best possible hospital for our patients. Foundation: Redevelopment is a massive project. What’s your take on what it’s going to mean for Royal Columbian? MB: I think this is going to be a huge opportunity for the Royal Columbian Hospital community to redefine our future. There is so much energy and effort being put forward by so many people. I hope we build a facility that enables and reinforces the existing culture of patientfocused care, hard work, and professionalism that really does permeate through the hospital. Certainly if you practice at enough different places, you will realize just how special this particular place is. Foundation: What will redevelopment mean for patients and patient care? MB: I would hope right now that patients would recognize how hard people here do work, in what can sometimes be a difficult physical environment, to ensure that their care is excellent. I think the patient experience in the new building will be vastly better in terms of singlepatient rooms, built-in space for family members, and the flow between different areas of the hospital. I think it’s also important for patients that the facility reflects the level of care they will receive. Foundation: Will the redevelopment be a significant attractor of new talent? MB: Absolutely. It’s already been identified that we need to have the right people here to support the enhanced services that we will have. I think this is going to transform certainly this whole campus and the surrounding area. By building an outstanding new facility and allowing people to do the things they have been trained to do, we will enhance our ability to recruit the best people in the province, country, and world.
PROUD TO LEND A HELPING HAND IN HELPING OTHERS
Wesgroup is proud to offer ongoing support to our neighbour, the Royal Columbian Hospital. We applaud their efforts to advance healthcare in New Westminster, one of BC’s fastest growing regions.
