Larryheadhunter
X-Rookies Still Luving it
Hi folks,
Things are getting exciting. An old friend of mine who I placed as a Prez of a medical company many years ago called me out of the blue, and he is now the President/CEO of a spine surgical product company whose customers are all spinal surgeons. He knows many of the spinal surgeons in the US, but most important of all knows the rep on most. In the west coast, he said Dr. Watkins, and Dr. Robert Pashman of Cedars Sinai are the ones the other surgeons trust the most out here to operate on their own family if they needed it. Well, I tried to get an appointment with Dr. Pashman, and he was unavailable. Lo, and behold, buddy Tommy two tone, as I call him, spoke to Dr. Pashman and he is seeing me and my MRI's and Catscans on Tuesday for a big time consultation. I have been concerned about a 2 stage Tues/Thurs surgery as planned by Dr. Watkins, and Dr. Pashman performs the same surgery in one operation. And so the beat goes on....... Since I was referred to Dr. Watkins, he will be ****ed off if I go with the other doc. lol. My only concern is to be pain free, period, so Debbi and I will be trudging down to Santa Monica, for a second opinion. I will keep everyone informed.
I have been on heavy narcotics and pain meds since last July and really for the last 2 years, so both surgeons insisted I am drug free for 2 weeks before the surgery, so on this coming Thurs or Fri I will be entering Hemet Recovery Center, for 10 days of detoxing. They use subutex to remove the narcotics, then treat the withdrawal symptoms as they occur , and it's a small hospital setting so it should be OK. They have acupuncture, acupressure, tens units, biofeedback, jacuzzi, massage, and whatever it takes to detox the patient with respect. Mostly chronic pain people like me, so they will teach me methods how to deal with the pain, until the big time operation next month. After twisting my cardiologist's arm, I stop Plavix and aspirin, Vitamin E, fish oil, all blood thinners on Feb 1, and hope that one way or the other, I will be under the knife on Tues. Feb 8th to finally fuse my lumbar region and get my life back.
After meeting with Dr. Pashman on Tuesday, I will report what our next step is. What is really cool, is that people from all over the world come to see both of these doctors for back surgery, so if Eli Manning, and Rafael Furcal, and many highly paid athletes trust these guys, I am feeling like I can't lose, whichever way we go. Wish us luck and thanks so much everyone for all your support. Debbi said she is going to take a picture of our last Heartland Big Horn and hang it above my hospital bed for me to quit whining and set a goal to get back on the road by the end of summer with a new Cheby one ton and Landmark. Probably wishful thinking, but I gotta think positive, and go with our instincts about which is the right doctor.
I will be reporting middle of next week what will be the next chapter in our lives. My DW Debbi is a Jewish saint, lol, I have no clue how she puts up with me. She says I automatically groan getting up even if it doesn't hurt that much.
Things are getting exciting. An old friend of mine who I placed as a Prez of a medical company many years ago called me out of the blue, and he is now the President/CEO of a spine surgical product company whose customers are all spinal surgeons. He knows many of the spinal surgeons in the US, but most important of all knows the rep on most. In the west coast, he said Dr. Watkins, and Dr. Robert Pashman of Cedars Sinai are the ones the other surgeons trust the most out here to operate on their own family if they needed it. Well, I tried to get an appointment with Dr. Pashman, and he was unavailable. Lo, and behold, buddy Tommy two tone, as I call him, spoke to Dr. Pashman and he is seeing me and my MRI's and Catscans on Tuesday for a big time consultation. I have been concerned about a 2 stage Tues/Thurs surgery as planned by Dr. Watkins, and Dr. Pashman performs the same surgery in one operation. And so the beat goes on....... Since I was referred to Dr. Watkins, he will be ****ed off if I go with the other doc. lol. My only concern is to be pain free, period, so Debbi and I will be trudging down to Santa Monica, for a second opinion. I will keep everyone informed.
I have been on heavy narcotics and pain meds since last July and really for the last 2 years, so both surgeons insisted I am drug free for 2 weeks before the surgery, so on this coming Thurs or Fri I will be entering Hemet Recovery Center, for 10 days of detoxing. They use subutex to remove the narcotics, then treat the withdrawal symptoms as they occur , and it's a small hospital setting so it should be OK. They have acupuncture, acupressure, tens units, biofeedback, jacuzzi, massage, and whatever it takes to detox the patient with respect. Mostly chronic pain people like me, so they will teach me methods how to deal with the pain, until the big time operation next month. After twisting my cardiologist's arm, I stop Plavix and aspirin, Vitamin E, fish oil, all blood thinners on Feb 1, and hope that one way or the other, I will be under the knife on Tues. Feb 8th to finally fuse my lumbar region and get my life back.
After meeting with Dr. Pashman on Tuesday, I will report what our next step is. What is really cool, is that people from all over the world come to see both of these doctors for back surgery, so if Eli Manning, and Rafael Furcal, and many highly paid athletes trust these guys, I am feeling like I can't lose, whichever way we go. Wish us luck and thanks so much everyone for all your support. Debbi said she is going to take a picture of our last Heartland Big Horn and hang it above my hospital bed for me to quit whining and set a goal to get back on the road by the end of summer with a new Cheby one ton and Landmark. Probably wishful thinking, but I gotta think positive, and go with our instincts about which is the right doctor.
I will be reporting middle of next week what will be the next chapter in our lives. My DW Debbi is a Jewish saint, lol, I have no clue how she puts up with me. She says I automatically groan getting up even if it doesn't hurt that much.
