“It was a depressing way to spend the start of 2011…in hospital getting back surgery…but at the same time, I would have been back home in pain anyway so I was glad there was some light at the end of the tunnel,” Grima told kangaroos.com.au.
In Tasmania for the Christmas period with his family, Grima’s back deteriorated to the point where he needed more medical advice.
He travelled to Adelaide to see a back specialist and the news was not good.
“The surgeon David Hall was kind enough to come back from his holidays and see me…once he saw my scans and symptoms, we were left with no other option but to operate. It was a last resort,”
“The procedure I had was called a ‘partial discectomy’ which is where they cut out a part of the bulged disc that had been around for a while. It had got to the stage where the bit that had broken away from the disc was pressing on some nerves which gave me a lot of pain in my leg and hip.”
Grima will spend up to 12 weeks recovering from the operation but is confident of a successful return.
“Even though I was in pain, I could still smile knowing that in a few months time I’ll be back playing AFL footy.
“People come back from injuries like this who are not full time footballers and who don’t have the medical resources we have…so I know I’ll come back at 100 percent.”
After a stellar 2010 season, Grima made the journey to Utah with the team but only made it through a day of training before he was struck down with severe back pain.
“It’s just a lot of wear and tear. David Hall said sometimes back injuries like this can date back a few years. I’ve had a sore back on and off for a few years but it usually clears up after a couple of days. I just presumed that with a bit of treatment I would be right, but a few days turned into a week and a week turned into a month and here we are.
“It was on the second day in Utah that it really flared up. Just seeing how fit all the boys are and how good the Utah camp has been for them is hard. I was there but wasn’t able to do anything.
“Like anyone that’s had a sore back, it’s pretty debilitating and frustrating because you get out of bed each day and hope that you’ll be better. But it wasn’t going that way for me.”
Since the surgery, he’s already noticed a marked improvement.
“It’s relieved the pain…when I woke up from the surgery I didn’t have any pain or tingles in my leg so, so far so good.”
