Headed to England....

[back2lifeplease]

Going to see Dr. Boeree on 1/11/12 for a double adr surgery. Wants to knock out my l4/5 due to it's annular tear. Talked with him for about an hour the other day. Any recommendations on hotel stay and how long I should plan on staying after the surgery would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

[My3labs]

good to hear you are gonna go with dr boeree . i think you have choosen the best .. i would plan for at least 10 -12 days but that is just me if you are in no hurry to get back

sandra

[back2lifeplease]

Yeah, I am thinking the same thing. more towards the 12 day. rather stay and rest over there as long as I can.

Originally Posted by My3labs

good to hear you are gonna go with dr boeree . i think you have choosen the best .. i would plan for at least 10 -12 days but that is just me if you are in no hurry to get back

sandra

[Jstuckey]

I stayed three weeks, but most people seem to stay 2. For me it was cheaper to stay another week and fly back regular seats than pay for lay flat seats. Some others chose earlier return with lay flat seats or extra seats in regular class to lie down.
Hotels: not great choices near the hospital, so plan on a car. I heard no on the Hilton due to no place to walk outdoors (it's right on the "motorway"). Several have stayed at Holiday Inn Eastleigh (see Tim's blog: My herniated and degenerated lumbar disc journey.). If you do stay there, make sure you sign up for Priority Club first to accrue hotel points for future free stays.
I rented a house in Durley -about a 10 min drive from the hospital. Nice area but houses/apartments are a big question mark with how great your bed will be - and mine was not! Winchester is a great location, a little more expensive but better options and super great location to the hospital, historic things to do.... (See Vicki's posts in Surgical Outcome forum).
Layers and rain coats!
Study driving (see Vicki's post in medical tourism) as it is extremely different and frightening!
I feel blessed that my insurance denied me causing me to leave the country and finding Mr Boeree. The hospital is nothing fancy, but I couldn't be happier with the surgery.

[back2lifeplease]

Where would be the best place to stay so I wouldn't need a car? Winchester? Would I be able to walk to places? It is looking that I may have to do this journey on my own, so don't know if I will be up for driving so quickly. Was thinking I could stay where I was able to walk to get where I needed or cab it.

Originally Posted by Jstuckey

I stayed three weeks, but most people seem to stay 2. For me it was cheaper to stay another week and fly back regular seats than pay for lay flat seats. Some others chose earlier return with lay flat seats or extra seats in regular class to lie down.
Hotels: not great choices near the hospital, so plan on a car. I heard no on the Hilton due to no place to walk outdoors (it's right on the "motorway"). Several have stayed at Holiday Inn Eastleigh (see Tim's blog: My herniated and degenerated lumbar disc journey.). If you do stay there, make sure you sign up for Priority Club first to accrue hotel points for future free stays.
I rented a house in Durley -about a 10 min drive from the hospital. Nice area but houses/apartments are a big question mark with how great your bed will be - and mine was not! Winchester is a great location, a little more expensive but better options and super great location to the hospital, historic things to do.... (See Vicki's posts in Surgical Outcome forum).
Layers and rain coats!
Study driving (see Vicki's post in medical tourism) as it is extremely different and frightening!
I feel blessed that my insurance denied me causing me to leave the country and finding Mr Boeree. The hospital is nothing fancy, but I couldn't be happier with the surgery.

[Jstuckey]

Winchester would be close enough for a cab (didn't see a lot of cabs in that area - so might want to check availability / cost). Holiday Inn would probably make more sense so you could do meals in a dining room without worrying about cooking (as well as you would have the best bet for a decent bed). It's about 2 miles from the hospital. You definitely won't be able to drive! No hotels within walking distance of the hospital (it's more residential, small town, schools). I know there was another patient right before me that went there alone from the US, and she used a bus to get around after the hospital stay. The nurses mentioned her, but I don't know if she is on this group.
If you can fly from Heathrow to Southampton airport, that is close enough to the area for a cab to the hotel. Heathrow is an hour away though. (Maybe a bus available to/from there to Eastleigh area?)
The good thing is they will not kick you out of the hospital. I had to look at them and say, "Really? I think I it's time for me to go. This is getting awkward!" So I left a day earlier than the doctor's suggested (surgery Wednesday am and left Monday after lunch) because I was up walking around, showering alone, getting dressed... That was SO not an American hospital concept to let you hang out until you're really ready!

[Jstuckey]

Also, get on Google Earth and check out the area. I don't remember seeing the Holiday Inn, so not sure if there's anywhere to walk (shops, restaurants). Winchester has a lot to do.

[Vicki_in_Florida]

We stayed one night in the Holiday Inn then went to the Winchester lodges.
Both took 15 minutes to get back to the hospital.
Actually, from the lodge we could usually get there in 10 minutes.
Read the posts in the travel assistance section.
I even put places to eat on it. I put info on my surgical outcome posts too.

I took lots of pictures if you pm me your email, I can send them if you want.

[laid up doc]

it seems you've made up your mind, but logistics is what pushed me to decide to go to Clavel over Boeree... that and not being in a large city for unforeseen complications or other medical issues.

i traveled w/ a friend who isn't a seasoned traveler, and i wanted no part of driving. having a car in Barcelona is a nuisance more than a convenience.

i did look into going to Boeree quite extensively, but it got really ridiculous really fast since i didn't want any part of renting a car.

i'm extremely happy w/ how everything went on my end... but i do understand that for a lot of people having surgery in Spain is scary, and ergo Boeree operates on more medical tourists than Clavel.

[Vicki_in_Florida]

I went with Boeree over Clavel because Clavel said I needed 3 cervical ADR'S too and that was a huge red flag since he never looked at my MRI images. Zigler and Boeree both said my cervicals were no where near needing surgery yet. Clavel sent me an email asking if i wanted to add this to my surgery.
3 cervical and 1 lumbar all in one visit without seeing MRI and emailing instead of calling to discuss?
That's when my hubby and I said no way. I know lots of people had good outcomes with Clavel but in my case, he didn't have my best interest in mind.