Geoff's Blog - Alpha Kilinik L4/L5/S1

Alastair · #1 (**permalink**) 10-15-2008, 09:17 AM

Hi Geoff,
I'm absolutely delighted for you that things have gone so well, you are quite right though, there's one or two mental press ups to do to get your brain back into the mode of being "totally healed".

You have been been many years in pain, and you need to get your brain to think you are out of that mode.

Take your time with your recovery. Happy Birthday

Yes Zeegers is a terrific guy
best,
Alastair

Firerescuefin · #2 (**permalink**) 10-15-2008, 03:05 PM

Thanks everyone for the encouraging thoughts. We are out and about today. Tomorrow is the final meeting with Dr. Zeegers...I think more of a formality at this point. We took some pics yesterday, will try to get them up today. Munich is such an incredibly beautiful city. There are certainly better reasons to come here than a back surgery. We leave monday the 20th. We are going to take the following days to have some family time and to see the sites. Grace wants the computer as I have become a "computer honcho" since getting here. I will post more later on today.

Geoff

mmglobal · #3 (**permalink**) 10-16-2008, 04:45 AM

Geoff... great news... glad you are still ahead of the game.

Enjoy the Glockenspeil Cafe. Diane and I like the beer at Schnieder Weiss... also have reasonably priced authentic Bavarian food there. (If you walk through the gate on the south side of Marienplatz, it will be on your left - market square on your right as you start to head down Tal street.

Talk to you soon...

Mark

Firerescuefin · #4 (**permalink**) 10-16-2008, 02:05 PM

Final payment was about 25K Euros....This was less than anticipated due to:

No need for another MRI
No Discogram
Checked out 1 day early
Anesthesiologist was considerably less.

It's nice for estimates to be too high than too low. It almosts feels like a tax return. I am meeting for a consult with the physiologist tomorrow morning. We talked for a long time....I cannot wait to pick his brain. I still have not posted the pics, but we are heading out the door to get some lunch.

I will be posting later on today. I have had a lot on my mind the last couple of days, and thought that it may be interesting to a lot of you out there that have had or are considering this surgery.

Geoff

Firerescuefin · #5 (**permalink**) 10-16-2008, 08:00 PM

Went to upload them...having problem with JPG format. Says "this in not a valid image format" I checked the size...it fits within parameters for JPG...

MARK.....Help!!! or anyone else with ideas please private message me.

Geoff

mmglobal · #6 (**permalink**) 10-18-2008, 02:21 PM

Geoff... email pictures to me and I'll put them up tomorrow. I'm still in Toronto at NASS... great conference. It has been wonderful to read about how well you are doing.

We'll talk soon... all the best,

Mark

Firerescuefin · #7 (**permalink**) 10-19-2008, 08:55 PM

Well, it's sunday night and we will be heading home tomorrow. We will be flying directly from Munich to Denver.

We have had a wonderful week in Munich. I cannot say enough about how beautiful and historic the city is. As Americans, many of us have barely a rudimentary understanding of our own history, much less that of the rest of the world. We certainly plan on coming back sometime in the future.

Before I go on about how I am feeling I want to share a few things:
We all know what we bring to the party (the surgical table) before we get there (physically/emotionally). If we are bedridden beforehand, then we will have a harder/slower time coming back. I did everything I could do to prepare for this surgery. I worked with a sports physiologist, go my body fat % to single digits, and tried to leave no stone unturned. I knew that this guaranteed nothing, but I thought it gave me the best chance, and was my way (and continues to be) of dealing with the stress and anxiety that I have faced in this ordeal.

I feel great! I have been walking 5-7 miles a day since tuesday. I was not trying to set any records, but it feels great to move...certainly better than sitting or laying in a hotel room. Dr. Zeegers is in agreement with everything I have done...as long as my body is tolerating it. My body is not only tolerating it, it is basking in it. At the end of the day, I am tired, but not hurting. My abdomen is almost without pain (itchy though) and my back muscles are getting stronger each day (especially noticeable the last two days). I am nearly off all meds, but when I am feeling sore I take some heavy duty advil. I have noticed even today, that I am moving much less tentatively (ie, getting in and out of bed/furniture. My sitting tolerance is exponentially better than before the surgery. I feel 1000% better a week after this surgery, than after a one levle micro discectomy. That's how I know my body is ripe to heal. There is a big gap in understanding between surgery and rehabilitation...so much so, that I have looked at going back to school to get my Phd in physical therapy. Most of the people I have worked with are yahoos. Unfortunately, they are the same type of people that have jaded many on this site. But, this is not something you can just do, and then hope for the best.

Anyhow, I will not be doing anything outside the parameters of Dr. Zeegers or the physiologist suggestions, but I am really excited/thankful for this entire experience.

Well, we have things to do. I will be e-mailng Mare a couple of pics. I will keep people updated periodically as things progress....Seacrest Out!