Update on Anita of Pro-Spine

[Anita]

Hello Everyone,

After many requests, I thought I would take this time update all of you.

AS many of you know I no longer work for Pro-Spine and had to make a difficult decision to return to live stateside since my mothers serious health issues.

In addition, it has been important to me and my family to return and remain close as a family unit since my sons deployment to Iraq one year ago. Unfortunatly, his deployment has been extended yet again, continuing long past his enlistment date. We will not see him again until February 2008. Your prayers and concerns have done more for me than you will ever know. The anxiety and stress that this imposes on all military families is beyond expression.

I remain in touch with Dr. Bertagnol, Dr. Fenk-Mayer and the team and work as a volunteer as I remain ever passionate about helping patients make informed choices regarding spine surgeries. It does not need to invoke the amount of fear as it often and understandably does. Fear of the unknown is the worst kind of fear.

My husband and I pursued the help of Dr. Bertagnoli starting in 2004, with very little knowledge of the how, where's and when's and yet all went amazingly well, including the time spent in Germany,(even with travel snafu's AND his falling down in the hotel bathtub after discharge,(landing on his lumbar spine on the edge of the tub) can you say @#$^%$!!!) If we can do it, anyone can.

Please feel free to e-mail me for insight into the process, explanations and travel info. I must stress it has been very important that I fully understand the German culture, which I discovered to be far more important than mastering the language (which takes A LOT of time to speak Deutsch well). Understanding the culture is infinitely more important and advantageous when pursuing surgery/treatment overseas.

I am more than happy to help wherever I can, calm your fears and help you to know that it is indeed possible.

I have many friends in Straubing, Bogen, Munich and Regensberg in the hotel industries, marketplace and shops, pharmacies, (Apotheke) and traveled all over with patients as tour guide, I had a tremendous amount of fun with patients and we saw many sights together. I can recommend places to see and things to do, even while recovering, geared toward your specific health issue. (with your doctors permission).

Just know, I can give insight, but will never dispense medical advice and I will always refer you directly to Dr. Fenk-Mayer personally at patient-affairs@pro-spine.com for her expert consult. I have a great deal of respect for her, her english vocabulary is remarkably expansive, however, some things do not translate directly and in this way I help with cultural translations.

I currently work as a business manager of a medical practice for a physician friend of mine and have reopened my massage/physio practice, specializing in spine problems. I will always be ever so greatful for the education I received while observing so many surgeries and attending many of Dr. B's courses. He is an excellent instructor and it has helped my practice immensely to have observed so many pathologies from the inside!

You, the patient, have graciously contributed to this. Our long talks at the bedside or while traveling to Regensberg, Munich or The Bavarian Forest have done the rest. I'll never forget the Thanksgivings I had over there with several patients which included Dr.B. at our table.

What an adventure this has all been and I encourage you to approach your surgeries this way, keep an open mind, set aside your American cultural expectations and see where the journey takes you, I suspect you'll have your eyes opened as never before.

One more thing, my sincerest of apologies to those patients that thought I dropped from the face of the earth this past spring,as my personal life made it impossible to do more than attend to family. It is only my intent to help, not harm, as most of you know, but I feel the apology is overdue and I am humbled by your forgiveness.

I write in faith and in all that is good, hoping to provide a port in the storm as so, so many of you have done for me...

My Very Warmest Regards to you all including the dear patients that came to Dr. B while I was there.......

Anita Peludat
aapeludat@hotmail.com

[Harrison]

Anita,

Thanks for updating us while also offering your assistance to others! What an adventure you’ve been through, it seems, with much learned along the way. So many of us in this community have our stories that would be interesting on the silver screen…what would your movie be called?!

Note to you and others who are kind enough to post your emails within messages:

- your current email should already be part of your profile, which you can hide or allow others to see. When you allow people to see it, the Internet robots cannot;
- when you post your emails within the post, use this format so that Internet bots do not harvest them for the spammers: anita (at) hotmale.com

Spambots…what is this world coming to...almost as bad as the fembots in Austin Powers...

[Anita]

Thanks Harrison, for covering my backside,

I was unaware my e-mail was shown elsewhere, privately.

Anita