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Old 06-25-2016, 02:35 PM
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nasakido nasakido is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 127
Default 2-Level ADR Patient

Hey Everyone,

I am so glad I found this support forum. It truly was the deciding factor as to what surgeons I would begin seeking out in the, hopefully, last stages of my journey.

I will not go into all the details here about my injury and this long journey my family has been through because of my injury. But for those that may be curious, you can read/follow my blog. I hope this is okay to point to this because it really is a long story that I do not like repeating over and over; and this is just easier for me to do so I do not have to be on the internet very long. It is getting harder to do so every day because I am flat on my back over twenty-one hours now.

I have already had a skype session with Dr. Willem Zeegers on 19-June-2016, and contacted Dr. Pablo Clavel, Dr. Bertagnoli, Dr. Bierstedt, Dr. Karsten Ritter-Lang, Wooridul Spine Center, Texas Back Institute, Dr. Carl Lauryssen, and Spine Institute of San Diego. As well as have been continuing to work with my current orthopedic surgeon Dr. Glenn O'Sullivan at Jefferson Spine Care, and also Dr. Sigurd Berven at UCSF Spine Center.

As of 23-June-2016 I had all the information into Dr. Zeegers but have not paid/started the diagnosis yet, quoted at $1,100 USD, and do not know how much he will quote for a 2-Level ADR. I am still waiting on a response back from Dr. Clavel but the initial quote was $32,000 Euros. Dr. Bierstedt quoted me $32,500 Euros for a 2-Level ADR using the M6 at both levels. The Texas Back Institute quoted me $56,000 USD for a 2-Level ADR using the Activ-L (I do not want the Prodisc-L), and assistance through their lawyers to try and get insurance (BlueCross BlueShield) to pay for it or at least partial. And Dr. O'Sullivan quoted me $8,000 USD for his fee, $31,000 USD for the hospital portion, and then there would also be the anesthesia fee and possibly a surgeon's assistance fee as well. If I went through my current orthopedic surgeon we would be using the Activ-L as well. And of course if I go with a Hybrid, fusion at L5-S1 and Activ-L at L4-L5 it is a couple thousand dollars cheaper here in the states.

However, after much research and careful thought my family has narrowed our top choices down to Zeegers, and Clavel from over sees; and the Texas Back Institute as well as my current orthopedic surgeon O'Sullivan from the states. This could change. But this is where we are at right now at least and have a peace about things.

At the moment now I am waiting for my second court hearing to take place on 28-June-2016 which will hopefully be completely settled so I can get out from under Worker's Compensation and get the proper care I need. I cannot stand this broken system of very sub-par care they provide. Because they have stalled my care since August of 2015 I ended up losing my job in December. I was frustrated, angry, hurt... but in the end let it all go and I will not be pursuing it as my family holds fast to the sovereignty and providence of God in all things. And we have come to realize that this was probably best for our family; and we will accept what He has allowed to happen and will allow in our future. "Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, be done."

I really was away from my family a lot with the position I had in the phone company... call outs all the time, and many nights where I could not come home at all until the next evening. Since my injury I have been able to see my children grow and mature... something I missed out on before. And my relationship with my spouse has become so much better. She truly is my best friend, and these past thirteen years I have felt blessed to have met her, and to be where we are right now in our lives. Yes this injury has been hard. But I have a strong will and very high pain tolerance so I have been able to deal with this fairly well, but not easy. Personally I would rather feel pain anyway so I do not do something I should not be doing, therefore injuring myself even greater because I was masking the pain with too much medication.

There are times I feel as though I am going crazy because of how hard it can be to control my brain and the amount of pain I am in. But there is not much else I can do because through this injury I have developed a severe allergy to NSAID's where I bleed internally, and other problematic symptoms to everything else my doctor has tried. I just have a very week system in being able to take medication... especially everything narcotic. So I am down to 1200mg 3x daily of Gabapentin to take the edge off of the nerve pain, and a small 4-5 oz. glass of red wine every evening just before bed. And lots of heat on my back throughout the day, a little stretching and a short walk to the mailbox daily. You have to keep moving no matter how bad it hurts.

Oh, and I cannot forget that I brew our own tea from leaves to help with my health and pain too. I guess I will list what I have found to be helpful so it may be of help to others.

In a small Muslin Cotton bag I put the following:

1/8 Tsp. Nettle Leaf
1/8 Tsp. Marshmallow Root
1/8 Tsp. Echinacea Purpurea
1/4 Tsp. Oat Straw
1/2 Tsp. Raspberry Leaf
1/2 Tsp. Raw Unprocessed Organic Honey
1/2-1 Tsp. Pure, Unrefined, Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil from Carrington Farms
1 Tsp. Lemon Balm
1/2 Tbsp. Chamomile Flowers
1x Calendula full Flower leaf or about 20-30 flower petals

All of our herbs and leaves we buy from Mountain Rose Herbs. I boil about 40oz. of water and then drape the Muslin Cotton bag over the side of the tea kettle and let steep for 5-10 minutes, pour and serve. After the evaporation of some of the water due to boiling and steeping this makes me a 14oz. cup of tea and my wife and two of our children 8oz. each.

I will post more once we make our final decision on the doctor we will be going with and/or what Dr. Zeegers or Dr. Clavel state in their diagnosis report. Wooridul Spine Center in Korea seems great, and there are excellent testimonials online. However, unless I know what surgeon will be operating on me, and unless I can view his success rate and credentials, I do not feel comfortable or confident in choosing something I know very little about. To be fair though, Wooridul has been very helpful and we have been corresponding back and forth quite a bit... so I give them credit for that.

I will begin the diagnosis once we know how our settlement goes, and we know for certain how much we have to work with for my surgery.

Again, I am glad I found this forum, and I hope what I have said can be of comfort and help to others. If anything, be encouraged and never give up hope.

"Coram Deo"
__________________
Injury 31-7-14
MRI w/o con. 30-8-14
RT L5-S1 Discectomy w/ RT S1 Foraminotomy 21-11-14
PT (50) 20-8-14 to 04-24-15
MRI w/ con 13-4-15
XR Pelvis 08-6-15
COR INJ 02-7-15
MRI 14-11-15
Discography w/ CT-Scan 19-1-16
QME 16-2-16
XR LL 29-4-16
Bone Density (DEXA) Scan 01-8-16
XR LL 01-8-16
Metal-LTT 12-8-16
MRI 17-8-16
EKG 21-10-16
2-LVL L4-S1 ADR LP-ESP 08-11-16
XR LL 24-11-16
A-THX (24) 12-12-16 to 24-02-17
XR LL 31-01-17
XR LL 08-5-17
CT-Scan 07-6-17
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