November 16, 200619 yr Bertuzzi's bad back could keep star out for season Tony Gallagher, The Province Published: Thursday, November 16, 2006 Todd Bertuzzi submitted to the inquisition and why not? He's already spent a month on the rack. For the last month, the former Canucks star -- who's now with the Florida Panthers -- has been flat on his back in a great deal of pain and it's just in the last couple of days that he's been able to get back on his feet and move around after surgery to repair a big ruptured disc, which was pressing on his sciatic nerve. Bertuzzi has no idea when he'll play hockey again other than it's likely to be well after Christmas, meaning he'll probably miss Florida's visit to GM Place. He's been bothered by a sore and stiff back for well over two years. "I just thought it was normal wear and tear and stiffness, which I treated with massage, ice and heat and it always went away," Bertuzzi said Wednesday from Florida. "I came in early here for camp and had the usual stiffness and I was only able to play about 1 1/2 preseason games because of bruised ribs. "The stiffness gradually went away like it always had. But after that first Boston game, I didn't feel very well at all. I was stiff and it just gradually kept getting worse. "In the next couple of games, it was sore and I was getting numb and losing feeling in my feet. I was losing strength pushing off and I was thinking 'What's with my feet' because I'd never had dead feet before. "All along, I was getting more and more stiffness and I was having trouble getting out of bed in the mornings. "Then after the Washington game [on Oct.18], I couldn't get out of bed at all. I had shooting pain through my hamstring down my leg and I was losing all feeling in my feet and I knew it just wasn't right. I wanted to get more aggressive with it, so I went for an MRI and that showed the ruptured disc." From that moment forward, Bertuzzi knew he would need surgery, but the question then became when. Clearly, the Panthers' --and his -- preference would have been to wait until the end of the season, so they tried complete bed rest and a couple of epidurals to try to get the inflammation down and the disc to cease pressing on the sciatic nerve. All the while, Bertuzzi was experiencing some of the most unpleasant days of his life, flat on his back unable to move or have any activities with his young family. "For the past month, I've been pretty much useless around here and I'm still pretty concerned about my health," he said, leaving hockey out of the equation. "The two weeks off with the epidurals did absolutely nothing, so we opted for the surgery because I didn't want to lose a whole season. "After the operation, I was on complete bed rest for five days and it was really sore and it's still sore, but I'm moving around a little now. But basically for a month now, it's been absolutely brutal." Bertuzzi was keen to know what was going on in Vancouver, what the new coach was like and he was dismayed to hear what Brendan Morrison is going through, knowing he's trying to play through pain and stiffness as well. "He's such a great kid and him being the hometown guy has to make it that much tougher for him," said Bertuzzi. "I really feel for him." Bertuzzi said he speaks to Markus Naslund on a regular basis and he's also noted by watching Canucks games on television how hard his old friend is working trying to make things happen. "It's so great to see him moving as well as he is without the discomfort he had before. He's moving as well as I've ever seen him," said Bertuzzi. "All I can tell him is to just to stay positive, that things will get better and some of the chances will start to go in." On the legal front, Bertuzzi would like to get the whole Steve Moore issue resolved and put behind him, but he indicated the process was moving very slowly and he had no idea when the next steps would be taken. "The hardest part for me, professionally, is watching the guys out there knowing that you could be helping them if you were right. I just hate being out of hockey." http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...869c5d3&p=2 Way to go Keenan :| .
November 16, 200619 yr So where is the medical information backing up that he could be out the entire season? That was a pointless read. Its not like everyone and there mother hasn't speculated on this issue already.
November 16, 200619 yr Terrible news. Two things 1. Does insurance pay for this? I remember with Alex Fernandez, the marlins didnt have to pay any of his 7 million. 2. This will probably decrease his value for next season, so maybe the panthers have a shot at resigning him?
November 16, 200619 yr So where is the medical information backing up that he could be out the entire season? That was a pointless read. Its not like everyone and there mother hasn't speculated on this issue already. :thumbup All speculation at this point. Still got plenty of season left.
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