Spinal surgery put pro golfer Craig Matheson back in the game.
Craig Matheson felt so invincible in his early 20s that whiplash from a car accident seemed a minor setback. But while playing tennis a few years later, he re-aggravated the neck injury, resulting in a herniated disk. The 6’ 3” Toronto-born Matheson was in Florida at the time, qualifying for the Canadian Professional Golf Tour.
Craig successfully joined the PG Tour in the fall of 2002, then the year ended with a shock – a follow-up MRI revealed a mid-spinal cord tumour, unrelated to the neck problem and totally unexpected. Back in Canada, Craig was examined by Dr. Michael Fehlings, Head of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at Toronto Western Hospital’s Krembil Neuroscience Centre. Although small and slow-growing, if left unattended the tumour could eventually paralyze Craig, so he underwent surgery in July 2003.
What was scheduled to take four hours took seven – the tumour had grown tentacles along Craig’s spine that required complex and delicate removal. Five weeks later, Craig was golfing again and in November 2003, Dr. Fehlings gave him the ‘all clear’ – all the more extraordinary since no radiation was used following the procedure. “My experience and the treatment I received at Toronto Western Hospital was top notch”, says Craig. “I think the surgeons are miracle workers – I own them my life.”
The Krembil Neuroscience Centre is one of the largest combined clinical and research neurological facilities in North America. Focus is on six of the most complex disorders in the health care spectrum – spinal cord injuries, stroke, movement and memory disorders, eye disease, epilepsy and tumours.
Each year, thousands of patients like Craig Matheson depend on our Neuroscience Program for the best in specialized care. World-class clinician-scientists like Dr. Fehlings take their medical findings from the lab, to clinical trials, to treatment innovation.
