How Ria Atayde survived spine operation in time of COVID

Shiela Reyes, ABS-CBN News

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C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMTTDXznxbI/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMTTDXznxbI/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Ria Atayde (@ria)</a></div></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>MANILA – Ria Atayde has undergone a surgery on her spine at a time when COVID-19 cases in the country continue to rise.</p><p>In an interview with ABS-CBN News on Wednesday, Atayde shared what she went through after she was diagnosed with a herniated disc on her spine in April last year.</p><p>“I really did my best to do everything I can para I would avoid surgery. Pero from the start pa lang, sinabihan na ako that surgery would be my option… For a while it was working tapos I hit a point na hindi na ako makatayo, hindi na ako makaupo ng maayos,” she said.</p><p>Her condition worsened such that she could no longer find a position that did not hurt. She saw at least eight doctors before making her decision to get surgery.</p><p>“Out of the eight, two of them said don’t do surgery, not yet, kaya pa. But six of them said, ‘You need it or else there’s a tendency na pwede ka maging paralyzed or you will reach a point na you can’t control your bladder, internal organs.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God, really?’ I did pa rin therapy kaso nga this February, sobrang lala,” she said.</p><p>Prior to surgery, Atayde said she had a hard time standing up straight.</p><p>“My whole family was telling me na I was walking like a lola already. Parang hindi ko napapansin na ganun na ako maglakad. Ang alam ko lang, &#x27;yun &#x27;yung posture na hindi masakit for me.”</p><p>After weighing all her options, the Kapamilya actress ultimately decided to get surgery on April 3.</p><p>“Kasi I am starting ‘Viral’ soon… I really want to able to continue to act and I know that for a fact, if I kept my injury there, isa pang iintindihin &#x27;yun when you’re acting. It’s not easy to act when you’re not feeling well,” she said, referring to the upcoming drama series of ABS-CBN.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1661502" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Atayde had the surgery at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig. </p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yung protocol nila, before you enter, you have to swab pati &#x27;yung companion mo, PCR. That’s two days before you enter,” she recalled.</p><p>“And then ‘di ba usually when you do surgery, may mga clearance which you do as an outpatient. Ngayon, they requested na you do it as an in-patient para isahan na. Pagpasok mo, they do the tests and then the next day will be the surgery.”</p><p>Atayde checked herself in at the hospital on April 7 and had the procedure the following day.</p><p>“It was a very emotional process for me. I really didn’t want to have it done if I had a choice. But it really reached a point na parang it was compromising the quality of my life,” she said.</p><p>Sharing how she prepared herself mentally and emotionally, she said: “I went on YouTube, I went on Google and looked up lumbar microdiscectomy or &#x27;yung mga post- and pre-surgery, what should you do, what should you expect. So parang going into it, I was really mentally prepared.”</p><p>Atayde said her doctors were also very reassuring throughout the whole process.</p><p>“They were telling me all the things I should expect. Prior to surgery, sabi nila na after [the day of surgery], pwede na makatayo. True enough, I was able to. I was able to stand better than I did prior to surgery,” she said.</p><p>As hard as it was for Atayde, the actress said she does not regret her decision.</p><p>“I can stand na… pero right now, meron pa rin akong surgical pain, &#x27;yung soreness from the surgery. Sabi ng doctor ko, for the next two to six weeks, I would have pain sa legs, medyo numbing, tingling sensation pero he told me na normal daw &#x27;yun. It’s part of the healing process. That’s where I’m at right now. Masakit pa rin. I am able to stand on my own pero better if I have assistance. I am able to walk up and down the stairs but better if I have assistance. Lying down, doon ako medyo nahihirapan kasi medyo masakit pa. I really just have to change my lifestyle as well.”</p><p>Looking back, Atayde said it was her family and friends who got her through this ordeal.</p><p>“Grabe my friends. Kasi since last year, when I got injured, nung medyo naging okay na to see people, they would invite me tapos I can’t kasi may back hurts. &#x27;Yun na &#x27;yung naging excuse ko. It was really not just an excuse. It was painful. Apart from medyo takot ako to see people pa rin, &#x27;yung pain pa rin talaga &#x27;yun. Everybody was just super supportive. My family, my friends, my co-workers even,” she said.</p><p>“Kasi I hit a point na medyo muntik na rin ako mag-backout sa &#x27;Viral&#x27; because of my back kasi sobrang lala ng pain. Just to make sure I continue acting properly and can still do what I am passionate about, ito yung choice that I had to do rin.”</p><p>Atayde is also thankful for actress Angel Locsin, who’s had a similar situation, saying the actress has been so helpful throughout this whole process.</p><p>“She gave me all her contacts. She gave me all the numbers even of her doctors in Singapore. Saying nga I couldn’t see them because I’m not entitled to fly to Singapore,” she said.</p><p>Now that she&#x27;s getting better, Atayde said everything that happened in the past year only made her feel really grateful.</p><p>“I really realized that less is more. Sobrang naging mas close ako to my core. It kinda weeded out &#x27;yung mga people na nandiyan lang. It put things into perspective talaga. If anything, it really brought my family closer,” she said.</p><p>“A lot of things have changed for my family. It’s been a pretty heavy year. Nagka-COVID my parents, the shutdown happened and after that, sometime December, my tita and six of our household staff also tested positive for COVID. It’s been a crazy journey. Then my dad had back surgery and I had back surgery. It’s been a lot for my family. But you know, it puts things into perspective. We’ve been so blessed. We went through all of that and we survived. I am just so grateful. It’s overwhelming,” she said.</p><div><strong>Related video:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qVbNixzLwE4?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>In an interview with ABS-CBN News on Wednesday, Ria Atayde shared what she went through after she was diagnosed with a herniated disc on her spine in April last year.</p>

In an interview with ABS-CBN News on Wednesday, Ria Atayde shared what she went through after she was diagnosed with a herniated disc on her spine in April last year.

How Ria Atayde survived spine operation in time of COVID | ABS-CBN

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How Ria Atayde survived spine operation in time of COVID

How Ria Atayde survived spine operation in time of COVID

Shiela Reyes,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 14, 2021 07:59 PM PHT

|

Updated Apr 14, 2021 08:10 PM PHT

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Ria Atayde

spine

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