Doctor Paralyzed from the Waist Down is Still Able to Perform Surgeries

An orthopedic surgeon who was paralyzed from the waist down still performs surgeries through the use of a stand-up wheelchair, according to the Daily Mail.

Dr. Ted Rummel, an orthopedic surgeon from O'Fallon, Missouri suddenly became paralyzed in 2010 after a blood-filled cyst burst in his spine.

After a year of rehabilitation, he went back to work and started operating on his patients using a traditional wheelchair.

Dr. Rummel told the Enquirer that his freedom has been a lifesaver. "When I'm able to do this, and I can get a piece of my life back, it's huge. It's so special," he said.

In 2009, the doctor was diagnosed with a cavernous hemangioma, a type of blood-filled sac on his spine. His doctors were worried that operating on him might cause him immediate paralysis so they avoided the procedure. He lived with the cyst for 11 months until the sac ruptured and the required surgery he needed to undergo thereafter left him paralyzed from his waist down. At the time, Dr. Rummel, who performed approximately 1,000 surgeries in a year, was uncertain whether he could still perform even just one surgery.

"One of my first thoughts was, 'Oh my gosh, my life as I know it was erased,'" he said. "Who you are out of the OR is gone and you have to redefine yourself."

A year after his surgery, he was back in OR and even performed his first surgery with flying colors. Another surgeon was stationed in the same OR to ensure that he's around in case the doctor needed any form of help or assistance.

"Very quickly it was apparent that his skills were still there," said Ann Abad, of Progress West Healthcare Center, the hospital where he works at.