BARRIE - Barrie’s Spencer Ross is back to work after heading to the United States recently for CCSVI surgery, but his Multiple Scleroris symptoms are still there.
Ross was on a waiting list for the Chronic Cerebral Spinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) in Albany, New York, but his scheduled appointment time was continually postponed. The last date he was given was April 2012.
So he rebooked at a Rhode Island clinic and had surgery Sept. 19.
“The doctor said Spencer’s (three) veins opened beautifully and that he was doing great,” said Bev Ross, Spencer’s wife.
She said the surgery took two hours and Ross was in great spirits.
“He said there was a lot of pressure while the balloons were being inflated and was worried that a vein might but all was OK.”
Ross was given the approval to head home the following day.
Ross went back to work Sept. 26 and the family was optimistic about the results.
But he hasn’t seen the miracle he was hoping for.
“I’m hoping in due time things may change,” said Ross Thursday.
“It has helped with the fatigue a bit, but I don’t see anything miraculous. I don’t know if it is a placebo that I want to feel better. It hasn’t given me the positive change I was hoping for,” he said.
Despite paying for the surgery and making the drive south for little benefit, Ross said he’d do it over again.
“If I don’t see any drastic change, I’m still glad I’ve done it. There was a blockage and I can’t see how that and the pooling (of iron) is a good thing.”

http://www.simcoe.com/news/article/1233984--ms-patient-doesn-t-see-miracle-after-surgery Ross said he continues to live with taking painkillers but is hoping to ease off on them in time.
CCSVI is a blockage of one or more veins in the neck area. An angioplasty-type surgery is done where a balloon device is inserted into a vein in the groin, then redirected to the neck area where the balloon is expanded to unblock the area.

So much emotion and anxiety preluded this trip and much lost sleep - I didn’t really realize just how much this was going to affect me,” said Bev.
But she said she noticed small changes right away.
“I didn’t say much to Spencer at first because as much as we wanted the miracle of immediate improvement, the reality is it could take weeks or months to notice change,” she said.
“I, however, noticed his posture. Spencer for a few years (prior to surgery) would find it hard to stand straight. He’d usually have to lean against a wall, sit or lean on me.”
And he doesn’t seem as tired as usual, said Bev.
In February, local friends organized a fundraising concert that raised more than $7,000 to help pay for the CCSVI surgery, also called liberation treatment.