ADR Surgery booked (Zeegers Apr 16)

[henry4956]

Well, it's in the books now. I've got my plane tickets (1st class direct 7 hr flight). I had a good conversation with Dr Zeegers this morning and I feel very confident that I have the right man for the job. The plan is a 2 level adr L4-S1 but it is possible that could change after several more tests to be done in Bonn. Dr Zeegers is intent on solving my coccyx pain as well - as he still is not sure whether or not it is related to lumbar issues.
Something about actually setting the date and buying the tickets has made me start questioning myself (Am I doing the right thing kind of thing)
Nevertheless I press on.
I want to publicly acknowledge God for being with me through all of this and also I want to thank all the people here who have supported me and helped me during my vetting process. You all know who you are.

[tnt136913]

hope it all works out , know the up and down of the pain you are going threw

[pittpete]

Glad you made a decision Henry.
You had to be comfortable in the decision and only you.
I'm pulling for ya bud

[jss]

Henry,

Congratulations on the felling of this next domino in the sequence of events to make you whole again! From all I've read about Dr Zeegers, making a better selection would be difficult.

A note about questioning yourself... Certainly there are no guarantees in spine surgery. All we can do is study, learn, research and then repeat those steps again and again; and then hope and pray for the best. You've done many months of careful and painstaking study about your condition, researching your options in implants and surgeons, comparing the outcomes of others with varied combinations of conditions, implants and surgeons. Then there's the uniqueness of your physical, financial, family, emotional, etc.. condition; all of which are inputs into this impossibly and irreducibly complex formula of spine surgery. From what I can tell, given all of that, you are the foremost expert on the best way for you to proceed. After all you've done, if you say it's Zeegers 5000 miles from home, then you've got my vote.

I know you're going to do great.

Good luck, Jeff

[bwink23]

Congrats, Henry....you'll be thrilled to know you can stand on your own 2 feet again. The first 2 weeks are the roughest. But you'll be on that long road to recovery and not regret your decision i believe that. You're gonna do great.

[drewrad]

Coincidentally, I had a phone call with Dr. Zeegers again at 3:00PM today, midnight his time. I am still in the early stages. I enjoy the time he takes with me. Together, we went bit by bit through my images and the questions I had, and how he would perform my surgery. He trusts his hands and sounds extremely confident in them.

I have Bierstadt's consult along with Clavels and now am waiting to meet with Kaiser tomorrow. I am going to push them for ADR. We'll see.

Finally, I am waiting for Bae, Laurryson and TBI to round out the rest.

But, I did start with Zeegers. Who knows? I may finish with him as well, like you. Time will tell.

[ian]

Henry, I know exactly what you mean about questioning yourself. Do your research, talk to doctors, their patients, get all the info you can, then relax knowing you did everything you can to make an informed decision.

Originally Posted by henry4956

Well, it's in the books now. I've got my plane tickets (1st class direct 7 hr flight). I had a good conversation with Dr Zeegers this morning and I feel very confident that I have the right man for the job. The plan is a 2 level adr L4-S1 but it is possible that could change after several more tests to be done in Bonn. Dr Zeegers is intent on solving my coccyx pain as well - as he still is not sure whether or not it is related to lumbar issues.
Something about actually setting the date and buying the tickets has made me start questioning myself (Am I doing the right thing kind of thing)
Nevertheless I press on.
I want to publicly acknowledge God for being with me through all of this and also I want to thank all the people here who have supported me and helped me during my vetting process. You all know who you are.

[RWS Dave]

Congrats on making a decision, Henry! You've certainly done your research, so hopefully you'll have peace of mind going in that you've done all you can to maximize the likelihood of a great outcome.

[drewrad]

Henry, on that two level, are you going with the Activ L? Or another device?

[henry4956]

To be completely honest I'm not sure. He has been using the M6 but only at the L5/S1 level. I'd be lying if I said I understood his rational. So I may actually get one of each. I know that most people on this site want the m6 but I trust Dr Zeegers judgement on whatever he uses. I believe he himself is not sure yet. He doesn't finalize the 'Diagnosis' until he does his final testing in Germany. I will be having a new mri, and CT scans on lumbar & coccyx when I get there. Then the final 'Perfect Diagnosis'.

Sorry for the delayed response, I haven't been visiting the site as much anymore since I made up my mind.