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NO doctors involved are mentioned by name in the posting.
My name is Ric Wallace and I am a White Rock photographer who has produced over 118 White Rock Beach (more planned for 2018) and 50+ Wildlife of Canada postcard and greeting card designs. Due to ongoing hernia issues and to increases in production costs and not wanting to raise prices in stores and add more postcards, I am seeking sponsors to help offset production and printing costs.
White Rock has had very few postcards in the past as the larger companies do not see White Rock as a feasible market.
Selling postcards in White Rock is NOT A MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS.
I got into this because of a double hernia in 2013 which was never successfully repaired. I am on yet another long wait list and I hope to have another (hopefully final) surgery in 2018 to fix the previously botched surgeries. I will lose a few more months if the next surgery is a success (as of March 2018 I will be into my 6th year dealing with the BC health care system for hernia issues). Ultrasounds done at Peach Arch Hospital in 2013 & 2015 showed the problems on the left and right sides - problems which doctors at Fraser Health caused and are now ignoring the findings of the ultrasounds. Below is one of many images captured by Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock November 25, 2013 and more in 2018.
I am now dealing with Vancouver Coastal Heath (VGH & Richmond Hospital).
On March 1st 2017 in Richmond Hospital a hole / hernia on my left side was closed - 1360 days after the initial June 11, 2013 surgery. The doctor's report from the 2017 surgery confirmed there was a problem and how the fix was attempted.
Over a dozen doctors in the Fraser Health had their finger in the hole in my left side, which was not there before the June 2013 operation. Pulling, ripping, tearing resulted in daily pain.
To sum up the problems of the 2013 surgery: I was sewn up too tight; I could not bend, twist or sit and there was a bad tear bending over to pick up a piece of paper. Talking to other people who have had hernia surgeries - THIS WAS NOT NORMAL. This surgery in 2013 also gave me a cut lip and broken tooth (big bucks out of my pocket to fix) and problems speaking for over a month.The doctor before the surgery told me if you have any problems let us know and we will get you in. About two weeks later after the surgery I stopped by the office to make an appointment, as there were problems. The receptionist said she could not get me in for over 3 weeks. When I finally got in to see the doctor, he said " IF YOU ARE IN SO MUCH PAIN, WHY DID YOU WAIT SO LONG TO SEE ME?" I told him I was in there in person more than 3 weeks ago, and his receptionist said this was the first available date. No response from the doctor. All this was told to the White Rock surgeon who operated and he turned down my request for an ultrasound (he said it was not needed, nor would it be requested) and would only offer a referral to a pain clinic. He was washing his hands of me. Over 100 needles and 4 visits to a pain clinic, where both the pain clinic doctor and I agreed they did not help. This doctor said the idea of an ultrasound was a good idea. Back to my family doctor to book an ultrasound. Months away to find another surgeon. This new doctor refused to even look at the ultrasound or report. In fact, he said he didn't even know how to read an ultrasound. The doctor called my wife in to say I did not have a hernia.The doctor also said - without reading the report - that the people at the Peace Arch Ultrasound Department do not know what they are doing and confirmed the image was just an air bubble (previously he said he did not know how to read ultrasounds). This doctor requested a CT scan done lying down where the holes close and are not noticeable, whereas the ultrasound above was in a semi-vertical position showing the hole opening up. This doctor did a Laparoscopy examination (NO REPAIR) August 2014 and concluded the procedure in about 15 minutes. When asked why he did nothing, he said it looked COMPLEX ? ? ?, and when asked if the mesh had hardened, he said yes when he tapped it with the scope. The doctor's pager went off and he said he would be back in 5 minutes. About 35 minutes later a nurse said you are free to go. I said I was waiting for the doctor to come back, the nurse replied he left 30 minutes ago (the doctor who just put a few holes in my midsection forgot about me); the nurse got a hold of him on his cell phone. This procedure at Eagle Ridge hospital later caused limited use of my left arm and hand, I could not use a drive-thru, lift my arm very high or put my left hand in my back pocket. After receiving an IV drip bag of amoxicillin with another surgery in 2015 by a different doctor, I now have full use of this arm and hand - meaning some bug or infection was brought on by the Laparoscopy examination at Eagle Ridge hospital. This was an unexpected benefit of the amoxicillin being used for another purpose.
A follow-up appointment in September 2014, and the doctor who did the Laparoscopy examination (and forgot about me in the hospital) informed me he was retiring and I had to deal with another doctor. Months away I was now dealing with a new doctor in Burnaby who also would not review the ultrasound images or report (still Fraser Health). This doctor agreed to operate only after a nerve block was done, which had no benefit and only caused more problems. This doctor agreed to remove the mesh and repair the old fashioned way they repaired hernias before mesh was used and bragged that new doctors only know how to use mesh. While being wheeled into the operating room June 2015, I was informed the doctor who botched the surgery in 2013 decided I was to be repaired using mesh???. Arguing with the doctor would have meant no operation, and I was in so much pain I figured if I died on the table the pain would stop, and I would have been fine with that.
After 3 hours I woke up with only one side repaired (I signed for both sides), with the surgeon telling me that's all time he allotted me. The left side remained untouched. After the operation and with my wife present, I asked the doctor about the mesh. He replied "It looked like it had curled."
The day after the operation the doctor tried to pull my right testicle down to where it was previously (it was riding high into the groin after his operation), and I quickly bent over in pain hitting my head with his. I asked for more information about the mesh and his comments about the CURLED Mesh and he did not want to talk about it. The report about the operation created a day after the operation tells a different story of what he told my wife and me initially, and the word "curled" is not in the report.
The doctor's report mentioned there were signs of my body rejecting the mesh and he put the same stuff back in. The operation he did cut off the blood flow to the one testicle that was being pulled up high. The cessation of blood flow was confirmed in a following ultrasound done in March of 2016, and it showed the testicle had atrophied. The mesh has come undone and is now causing other problems. There is more to this story that would cause you to lose your lunch; you can wait for my book.
These botched surgeries have ended my career as a wedding photographer. I did not move to BC to sell postcards & greeting cards, but this is what I am doing to try and make some income and keep my sanity (a fraction of what I was capable of before the surgeries).
The video below mentions 61 postcards, which was valid when the video was filmed in May 2014. I was wearing 2 hernia belts so I was able to be filmed for walking. I have been wearing hernia belts more than 5 years while paying monthly MSP health premiums in British Columbia . I have over a dozen incision scars on my mid-section with more to come. My guess for the next operation might be May or June, causing me to lose summer sales at the beach, and why cards in stores might be my only source of income.
In BC if you are trying to get a botched operation fixed, you go the the back of the line for maybe a year or longer.
I would like to reach the 200 postcard mark which can also be made into a greeting cards. Every postcard & greeting card acts as a promotional ad for White Rock / White Rock Beach with NO TAX DOLLARS spent.
Sponsored postcards are Ideal for individuals and families wanting to have a memorial keepsake, something to be cherished for future generations.
Also ideal for businesses wanting a unique opportunity to maybe gain more recognition by having their business name and website (printed on the backs of the cards) purchased by local residents and tourists as keepsakes or to be mailed around the world.
I am offering many sponsor options.
Below is a photo taken late October 2017, which would be a great postcard.
I am also an ARTIST set up at the beach under the ARTIST WALK program.
Make a donation of $5, $10, $100, $600, $1000 or more.
If you own a business this can be claimed as an advertising expense.
Purchase a postcard or greeting card from a local retailer, online or from Ric Wallace when he is set up at the beach or in person.
YOU CAN Also HELP by getting these products in stores like London Drugs, the Superstore, Shoppers, and other stores that have turned me down in the past by telling the manager and head office they should be selling these products as you would buy them if they were sold in their stores. All my products have UPC codes which can be scanned at checkouts - Save On Foods - Semiahmoo Shopping Centre is the largest retailer of these cards.
Any money donated or postcards sponsored will be used to expand the postcards, racks for display, parking. These postcards can be attached to custom greeting cards I print myself, cut, score, fold - which requires paper, ink and other supplies. Some equipment is outdated and needs replacing.
All postcards are printed in Canada and the greeting cards are printed at White Rock Beach using supplies from local stores. Next time you look at a card in store, look to see if if supports the China or USA economy. Think Canadian - think White Rock Beach postcards and greeting cards.
Ric is also offering photo prints, posters, etc from many of the images he has captured of beautiful White Rock Beach.
Virtual Edge Communications hasn't posted any updates yet.
Virtual Edge Communications is managing the funds for this campaign.