Hi All,
It has been a very long time since I have posted, or even visited the boards. However, I am going to attempt to post my story with the hopes that it may save someone else from the same journey which I have endured.
Like most of you, I had suffered from back pain for many years. My back pain started at around the age of 18. I endured the pain for many years without seeking medical assistance. After all, at that age I was a United States Marine! – No Pain, No Gain ooh rah! So I pushed on for many years. I was in my late twenties when I began minimally invasive treatments and testing for my back problems; shots, chiro, tens units, physical therapy and so on. In my thirties I was finally diagnosed with DDD, some loss of disc height, tears, bulging at and mild arthritis at L4 through S1. By this time I lived in rural NE Missouri where the quality of medical care is a bad joke. I was in constant pain and my symptoms were consistently getting worse. With my low back pain, radiating down my legs (predominantly right sided) not responding to conventional methods the “F” word (fusion) kept coming up at more frequent intervals. Now, among other things, I am a very stubborn and determined individual. I had always heard that with a fusion the levels above would give out and the loss of motion was of great concern. I knew there had to be other options and I began my quest. It didn’t take long for me to learn that ADR had been preformed successfully for many years in Europe.
In the beginning of 2004 the pain was so overwhelming that I could not work. At this time I was a flight attendant which is much more physically demanding than many people realize. When I was working, my days were filled with 12 – 15 hours on my feet, twisting, bending and lifting. I was on family medical leave and receiving short term, employer sponsored, disability compensation. The key word there is short term. I knew that I had to find a way to fix my back soon or my career and seniority would be lost. As many of you have done, or are considering, I contacted the surgeons in Europe for a consultation. The staff at Stenum Hospital responded very quickly and advised me that I was a good candidate for ADR. In fact, I was in the waiting room at the Orthopedic Group here in Missouri when I received the phone call to offer me a surgery date. I still had not received a reply from the other surgeons that I had forwarded my case to. I was told that there was a very high probability that the ADR surgery would fix my back and that I would be able to return to work in four to six weeks! This was fantastic news, but how would I pay for this? I had been a single parent ever since my son was born in 1984. I had always worked as many jobs as it took to provide for my son but had never earned enough to accumulate any sort of savings. After some internal debate and discussions with my friends and family it quickly became apparent to me that cost was irrelevant to get my life back. I funded both the trip and the surgery with my credit cards.
It is difficult to explain the emotions I felt at that time. I was anxious but also relieved and very hopeful. The staff at Stenum was so reassuring that this was the right thing to do. So we left for Germany at the end of May 2004. I was scheduled for the first surgery on June 4, 2004. My two Chartie ADR’s were placed at L4-L5 and L5-S1 with approximately one hour of surgery time. As so many before me reported, I was up and walking that day and my leg pain was, for the most part, gone.
2004
I even requested to leave the hospital early. I walked more while I was in Germany than I had in months. I made the trip home without too many complications and after some rest from the long trip I was feeling pretty good. In fact, as you can see from my first post in this thread, I was mowing the yard and even went camping for the fourth of July in 2004.
OK EVERYONE, ISPINE SAYS MY POST IS TOO LONG SO I AM CUTTING IT IN HALF HERE AND WILL CONTINUE IN ANOTHER POST...