INDEPENDENT Senator Nick Xenophon is recovering in a Sydney hospital after four-hour spinal fusion surgery.
Senator Xenophon, 50, who cemented his popularity with media-savvy stunts, has not lost his sense of humour.
Despite the intense pain, he told of nurses remarking that another miracle had been performed after finding a spine in a politician.
“I now have a 10cm incision in my back, but I’d rather be knifed by a surgeon than by another pollie,” he said.
Senator Xenophon suffered the chronic injury during a 2006 election fundraiser while attempting a Zorba the Greek dance. Since then, he has had regular visits to physiotherapists, chiropractors and acupuncturists until the only option to relieve the searing pain was to fuse the L5-S1 vertebrae.
After the surgery and two days in intensive care, the operation appears to have been a success.
Already he is walking short distances, but must endure daily physiotherapy and hydrotherapy and wear a back brace for the next six weeks. He cannot travel yet, but expects to be back in Adelaide in the next fortnight.
The workaholic ex-lawyer is becoming a regular in the operating theatre, having undergone life-saving heart surgery in 2002 and heart scares a few years later.
“I’m done with surgery . . . I think I’ve had my quota,” he said.
“I’m starting to be a little like the bionic man.
“I’ve got titanium wiring in my chest . . . and I’ve got nuts and screws and plates in my back – so I’m worried about metal detectors at airports.”
He mocks suggestions the latest health issue will slow his resolve which recently included opposing the Federal Government’s emissions trading scheme.
“The good news is this has kept me quiet for the past month,” he said.
“The bad news is, now that I’ve had the surgery, I’ll be an even bigger pain in the backside in Canberra.”
(source: adelaide now)
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