After a miserable 2011 season with the Red Sox that included three trips to the disabled list and a pulmonary embolism, Bobby Jenks needed surgery to remove bone spurs from his back. That procedure nearly killed him and essentially ended his MLB career.
Via NESN.
When Bobby Jenks went under the knife on Dec. 12 in Boston, the reliever was scheduled to have two of four bone spurs removed. Unbeknownst to Jenks, the surgeon botched the procedure by starting –– and then not finishing –– a third bone spur. As the Red Sox hurler began his recovery phase, he noticed spinal fluid leaking from the surgical incision. Then, after a week, he experienced throbbing headaches. At that point, Jenks grew worried. “The pain was just excruciating,” Jenks said Thursday. “I woke up in the middle of the night like literally someone hit me with a sledgehammer. I can’t explain it, other than like 10 times worse than any migraine I’ve ever had.” It called for an emergency surgery on Dec. 28 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Although Jenks’ back was still sensitive from the previous procedure, he was forced to go under the knife immediately or the ramifications could’ve been fatal. “If I didn’t have it done immediately, the infection could have gotten into my spinal fluid and up to my brain and who knows what happens then,” Jenks said. “Obviously I could not be here right now.” Due to the short span between surgeries, the 30-year-old admitted his muscles were “torn open”, which left him bed-ridden for a few weeks.
Now, nearly a decade after the botched surgery Jenks is receiving a $5.1 million settlement after he sued for malpractice.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 against Dr. Kirkham Wood. That same surgeon was reportedly involved in three lawsuits according to an investigation by the Boston Globe.
So, good for Bobby Jenks.
