Andrew Truong: ‘Miracle’ recovery after 18cm tumour removed from spine

A man was told he would be a quadriplegic, living off a ventilator, after a tumour grew along his spinal cord. That’s when some of Sydney’s top surgeons and medical staff got to work.

Andrew Truong at Prince of Wales Hospital. Picture: Monique Harmer

November 21, 2019.

For most it is an insignificant date.

But for 31-year-old Andrew Truong it is the day that changed his life.

Truong went under the knife for 13 hours as three neurosurgeons removed an 18cm-long tumour from his spinal cord at Prince of Wales Hospital.

Doctors had earlier told him he would die if he did not get the surgery, but would become a quadriplegic living off a ventilator if he did.

“They were 100 per cent certain,” he said, of becoming a ventilator-dependant quadriplegic after surgery.

Mr Truong with Carola Maier who works at Prince of Wales Hospital. Picture: Monique Harmer

“They said we will have to operate because if it grows into the brain stem we won’t operate and it is basically game over.”

Remarkably, following the major surgery, he did not become a quadriplegic and did not require a ventilator to survive.

In fact, he has recovered well, and has feeling and movement in his arms and hands and above his chest.

The Lakemba man said it was a miracle and he could not thank the staff at Prince of Wales Hospital’s spinal ward enough for their support.

He is now dependant on his electric wheelchair but is living a relatively normal life holding down a job and has plans to continue helping out with the youth group at his Catholic Church next year.

“I try to stay positive and prove to (others) that I am normal,” he said.

“I am in this chair but I’m still me. This chair does not define who I am it is the actions that I do.”

Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick.

He said he first realised something was wrong with his health back in 2015 when he went to see his GP about a pain in his neck. Following an MRI scan, a tumour was discovered on his spinal cord.

Doctors could not operate because of the health risk but his tumour grew and he lost feeling in his legs a couple of years later.

He was eventually advised he must undergo major surgery to remove the tumour.

“I’m just glad they removed all the tumour,” he said. “I am pretty lucky I survived.”

He said during his many months as an inpatient at Prince of Wales Hospital’s spinal ward the staff that cared for him – from nurses to physios to occupational therapists to doctors – had become like family.

“The amount of support that they provide – I owe everything to them,” he said. “They become like family.”

This Christmas, the Prince of Wales Hospital Foundation is asking people to donate to the world-class spinal ward at the hospital in Randwick. Click here to donate.

Funding will go towards vital equipment, upgrades to the ward, and fridges for each bedside so patients can store home-cooked meals and drinks.