We made it to Hattigen. Flew SFO -->ORD-->DUS. All flights went smoothly (even arrived a few minutes early). Taxi driver was waiting at the airport as arranged. It's about a 30-40 minute drive to Hattigen through a bunch of small towns on mostly one-lane roads. We got to the Avantgarde Hotel, took a nap and then went for a stroll through the old part of the town. Since we arrived on a Sunday, just about everything was closed except a few bars, restaurants and an ice cream shop.
We are getting picked up tomorrow to go to Recklinghausen for some pre-op tests and a meeting with Dr. Bierstedt. I've heard a lot of good things about Dr. Bierstedt and also had good conversation with him a couple go months ago. Looking forward to meeting him in person, which I hope will help put some of my lingering anxiety about the surgery to rest.
Once we're done in Recklinghausen, it's back to Hattigen where I will get checked in to the hospital for surgery Tuesday morning!
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Nov 2010: herniated L4/5 led to back pain, sciatica and foot drop
Dec 2010: back pain resolved, sciatic pain and foot drop worsened
Jan 2011: micro-discectomy resolved sciatic pain and foot drop; back pain returned
July 2012: discogram reveals L4/5 and L3/4 have grade 3 annular tears and produced concordant pain
Nov 12, 2013: 2-level ADR (L3/4 and 4/5) by Dr. Bierstedt
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