Ria Atayde sumailalim sa spine surgery; nagpasalamat kay Angel Locsin

BUKOD sa pinagdaanan ng kanyang mga magulang last year dahil sa COVID-19 pandemic, may matindi rin palang pagsubok na pinagdaanan ang TV host-actress na si Ria Atayde.

Kamakailan, sumailalim na nga siya sa spine surgery sa kasagsagan pa rin ng pandemya sa bansa matapos ma-diagnose ng herniated disc noong April, 2020.

“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,” pahayag ni Ria sa panayam ng ABS-CBN.

Unti-unting lumala ang kanyang kundisyon at hindi lang isa o dalawang doktor ang nilapitan niya para ipakonsulta ang kanyang spine kundi walong eksperto para makasiguro kung dapat na ba talaga siyang magpaopera.

“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,” kuwento ng dalaga.

Pagkatapos pag-isipan ang lahat ng kanyang options, nagdesisyon na siyang magpa-surgery last week.

“Kasi I am starting ‘Viral’ (bagong Kapamilya serye) 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 ‘yun when you’re acting. It’s not easy to act when you’re not feeling well,” aniya.

Hindi naging madali para kay Ria ang proseso dahil nga sa higpit ng protocols sa ospital (St. Luke’s Medical Center sa Taguig), “‘Yung protocol nila, before you enter, you have to swab pati ‘yung companion mo, PCR. That’s two days before you enter.

“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,” pag-alala pa ng anak ni Sylvia Sanchez.

“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,” dagdag pa niya.

Hindi naman niya pinagsisihan ang kanyang desisyon dahil matapos ang operasyon, “I can stand na, pero right now, meron pa rin akong surgical pain, ‘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 ‘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,” pahayag pa ni Ria.

Bukod sa kanyang pamilya, mga kaibigan at supporters, pinasalamatan din niya si Angel Locsin na dumaan din sa katulad na sitwasyon dahil talagang tinulungan siya nito sa ilang proseso ng pagpapa-surgery.

“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,” sabi ni Ria.

Mensahe pa ng Kapamilya actress, “I really realized that less is more. Sobrang naging mas close ako to my core. It kinda weeded out ‘yung mga people na nandiyan lang. It put things into perspective talaga. If anything, it really brought my family closer.

“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,” lahad pa ni Ria Atayde.