WHO would blame Paul Ryan for giving up the wait for the go-ahead to undergo spinal surgery.
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The Wodonga resident had been waiting 14 months for the TAC to meet the out-of-pocket expenses for his surgery after he developed extreme pain 19 years after a motorcycle accident.
Mr Ryan’s doctors had confirmed the discs at the base of his neck were damaged and he had lost all feeling in his right hand when he asked his GP to refer him to the neurosurgery department at St Vincent’s hospital in Melbourne.
Last month he was able to have the surgery done through the public system.
Little more than a month on, he says the surgery has been life-changing and he is now back applying for jobs after being forced out of work when the pain first began more than a year ago.
It says a lot that while there is inevitably a wait for surgery in the public system, that is shorter than the wait Mr Ryan has had for the TAC to determine its support for his other expenses.
He may not receive that support but given the TAC’s processing of his claim would allow for a reimbursement to the health system, it should be considered in a more timely manner.