If you have ever dined @mosacoastal, @malibupier, @elcholo1923, @sausalelsegundo, @greenleafchopshop, @ivyrestaurants or @mariasitaliankitchen or French 75 (now closed), you might have been greeted by this well-regarded General Manager or even waited on by him.  Never afraid to roll up his sleeves when help was needed.  No matter how much pain he was in.  You would never see through it, past his welcoming smile.  But, twenty-five years of it just got to be too much.
 
In the midst of the restaurant crisis and Covid, the pain just got to be too much and drove him to seek medical advice. He was told that his spinal cord was so severely compressed that he was one fall away from total paralysis, no minor how that fall may be.  It was decided that he would require two urgent, consecutive, surgeries.  
 
The first one was on July 1st.  The procedure involved a C2-to-C7 Posterior Decompression & Instrumented Fusion for Cervical Myelopathy (don’t click on that link unless you have a strong stomach).  They were having a hard time getting his blood pressure and pain under control.  Not walking and barely eating, July 8th finally came around and it was time for the second surgery: Laminectomies and Fusions of the Lumbar Spine with possible extensions of levels.  In English, to decompress the spinal cord and stabilize the spine with cages and instrumentation).  Instrumentation – that’s medical speak for all the hardware, pins and artificial discs now holding his spine and neck together.
 
On July 11th, he was finally able to walk to the bathroom on his own, for the first time in 10 days.  The next day, they were finally able to get his blood pressure under control.  His pain? well . . .  He was finally able to return home on July 16th, but the pain subsisted.  The first set of staples came out on the 25th and the second set came out this very day – August 9th.  For more details on the events, check out the Updates section.
 
It has been a very long road, not just for Phil – but for his devoted wife, Colleen, a Nurse Practitioner, who has been working 6-7 day work weeks, while also tending to Phil’s medical needs.  Married just 9 years, they met here in California.  She is a transplant from Brockton, MA and he hails from Tempe, AZ. 
 
Phil made it through these surgeries with the same resilience he showed in the pandemic.  Although, Covid had catastrophic effects on the restaurant industry, he did what he could to keep earning a paycheck.  Now, he is looking at potentially not being able to work for the next 6 months, while he goes through physical therapy (not covered by his insurance).  And to just pile on top of all this, he cracked a molar 6 days ago and now requires an implant – also not covered by his insurance.
 
Phil and Colleen wouldn’t ask for help if they didn’t need it.  So if you’ve ever had a dining experience with Phil or encountered Colleen in any capacity as a nurse, trainer, masseuse – contribute if you can or pass this on to someone who can.  If you can do both, then you’re really #gettingphilsback, #gotphilsback, #survivingspinalsurgery #helpphilheal