Barry DeCouto, one of the Island?s top former cricketers, continues to make considerable strides following back surgery at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston last month.

DeCouto, 55, was airlifted to the US on October 11 and immediately operated on after complaining of severe pain and a gradual loss of sensation from the waist down 72 hours after enjoying a round of golf at Belmont Hills.

?I hurt it (back) playing golf. I had a little pain in my back, but thought nothing of it as little pains often come and go. Then I thought it could be a pinched nerve but two days later I couldn?t even walk and the pain was increasing,? said DeCouto from Boston yesterday.

The former cricketer was eventually diagnosed with a crushed disc in the lower spine at King Edward Hospital and referred to Lahey Clinic for surgery.

?The doctor had to go in and fix me. And when I woke up there was no more pain in my back,? DeCouto added.

Three weeks following the operation the former Flatts, Nationals, Devonshire Recreation Club and Somerset Cup Match wicketkeeper continues to make a speedy recovery.

DeCouto, a member of Bermuda?s 1979 ICC Trophy national cricket team and one of the top wicketkeepers the Island has ever produced, is now able to walk unassisted and is gradually regaining sensation in his lower body. And his progress is being closely monitored at the New England Rehabilitation Centre in Boston.

?First I was in a wheelchair and then I went from a walker to a cane to being able to walk without one. I?ve made a miraculous recovery in a very short period of time,? DeCouto said.

The Bermudian has drawn inspiration from those less fortunate in the Boston medical facility, and is presently housed in the same room as compatriot and former Southampton Rangers team-mate Ray (Flip) Todd jr.

?You never know where life is going to take you. . . . this is the first time I?ve seen Ray since we played for Rangers together,? DeCouto said.

?But what has really helped me are some of the very ill people in this place. It?s very sad to see people damaged really bad. It actually makes you realise how fortunate you are.

?I?ve learned a lot since I?ve been here, including teaching myself how to walk again. I couldn?t even move my foot two inches when I arrived here. But I think being an athlete has really helped me in my recovery.

?I understand what training is all about, you have to be disciplined and also have the right attitude.

?But I?m a winner and not a loser and you have to be strong and have a positive attitude to overcome challenges such as this.? DeCouto now hopes to return to Bermuda by the end of the month and expected to make a full recovery anywhere between three months to a year, doctors said.

DeCouto is the second former cricketer in the past two -months to have been admitted to Lahey Clinic for surgery.

In late September former Warwick opening batsman Braxton Stowe had heart surgery there while Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) president Reggie Pearman also underwent heart surgery at the top US facility earlier this week.