Help Kyle Lagran pay for his $100,000 back surgery

These are now Kyle Lagrans Vertabrae!

Bryan Orr and I have known Kyle Lagran for over 25 years collectively. We thought we would start up a Go fund me for him to help cover the $100,000 surgery that he just had completed in Germany. For perspective, this required him to remortgage his house....

We are happy to report that the surgery was a success as of June 26th, and he is on the road to recovery!

Below is from Kaila Lagran (Kyle's wife)

Kyle has always been athletic and competitive, so watching him lose the ability to do any of these activities and live in constant pain has really made me admire his resilience and strength. As friends we wanted to ask our community to help with some of the financial burden that he will be enduring while he is recovering from major back surgery.

Kyle’s back injury journey:

His back injury first occurred doing an activity he loves, playing floor hockey.

Over the last 15 years, he has tried every possible treatment to find a solution for the pain. Physiotherapy, acupuncture, chiro, multiple cortisone injections, and radiofrequency ablation are just a small list of the treatments.

He has been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease since 2013. Essentially, his L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs are completely desiccated with his L3-L4 disc also mostly degenerated.

*See MRI image below.

He is unable to walk, move, or sleep without the assistance of prescription pain medications and gabapentin. Performing basic life tasks like showering or dressing are a challenge.

While both minimally help with his pain, they significantly disturb his cognitive ability. Thus, in trying to manage his pain he is also being forced to deal with the cognitive issues, making work a challenge.

He attempted to get a consultation with a surgeon in Canada and was denied a consultation by CaleoHealth. This led him to seek options outside of Canada. Being only 39 he knew he could not live the rest of his life on medications with no hope of ever returning to the active lifestyle he loved.

Following the disappointing support, or lack thereof, from the health system he was forced to look into private options and alternative treatments or surgeries that may not be offered in Canada.

The good news is that there was another option in Germany. He will be undergoing level 3 artificial disc replacement surgery in Bogen, Germany with Dr. Bertagnoli on June 26. Without the assistance of our Canadian medical system this surgery will cost $98,644,56 not including travel expenses.

Dealing with the health system:

Those closest to him have watched him suffer and decline while fighting and advocating for himself within a broken health care system.

He went through the health system seeking any help they could offer. He followed every recommendation made by all the doctors he was seen by. Hoping that any of the recommendations or treatments would offer relief.

He spent hundreds of hours going to physiotherapy, chiropractic therapy, acupuncture…he tried any program recommended. He waited years on wait lists just for a chance to speak with any specialist that could help.

He went to three different back pain clinics, saw over 10 doctors and received multiple and varied back injections.

The health system treated his symptoms but not the root of the problem. Which was the degeneration of his discs.

His last treatment in October 2023, did offer relief but they did not tell him that he was not supposed to exercise. Which made the injury worse, and his pain skyrocketed resulting in two hospital visits because he was unable to walk due to the spasms in his back and legs.

Once he reached this point, pain management through prescription medication was the treatment offered to him. He would live his life in chronic pain. You can read more on the impacts chronic pain has not only on the person, their family but Canada’s health system:

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advisory-bodies/canadian-pain-task-force/report-2021.html

Kyle did not want to become part of an already huge problem.

His next step was to get a referral to speak with a back surgeon specialist. His medical file was sent to Caleo in hope he would get an in-person consultation.

Caleo refused to allow him to be evaluated and see the specialist in person. Not only was he not allowed to speak with the specialist, his family doctors also were not allowed to discuss his condition with the specialist. Caleo sent this response on why he was unable to speak to or get evaluated by the specialist: “Dr. Jacques Bouchard is no longer seeing new patients. Most Canadian surgeons do not do a 3-level lumbar disc anthroplasty because there is no support from the literature, no reported series above 2 level.”

After this denial and without being provide an in person physical appointment, or even a simple phone call, Kyle was forced to look outside of Canada for treatment.

He sent his medical records to back surgeon clinics over the world for their expert opinions.

They all came back with the same diagnosis and treatment plan, which is the disc replacement surgery. All of them identified Kyle as an ideal candidate for the surgery.

After extensive research and consultation with many surgeons around the world who do perform level 3 ADR surgery, Prof. Dr. Bertagnoli was selected as he was the most experienced in level 3 ADR surgery.

Kyle will be on short term disability and has a long road to recovery ahead. His family are doing everything they can to ensure that he receives the best possible care and treatment.

I know they will be deeply grateful for any contribution, big or small, and for the outpouring of love and support they have already received. Your donations will not only alleviate the financial burden but also provide him with hope and strength during this difficult time.