Re: Travelling in Belgium

May 4, 2002

Hi Marie,

Dr. (Mr.) Treacy's email is Treacy@....

Dr. De Smet told me 7 days in hospital and 7+ days in Hoilday Inn w/PT, but

I'm having both hips done. I don't have a scheduled date yet.

Good luck to you.

Saeed

May 5, 2002

Marie,

Hi, I had a difficult surgery ,with De Smet, and checked out of the

hospital after 7 days. I felt up to it after 4 days but i couldn-t

change my flight to an earlier date.

If you call the airport ahead of time, you can arrange a

wheelchair...great help, and they aslo have attendants who will push

you around in it.

I would like to think that after 10 days, you might not want to

bother with a wheel chair, although pulling your suitcase is tricky!!

regards

Richie,

BHR, De Smet, Nov 2001

> Hi,

>

> I am investigating resurfacing with Dr. de Smet and also Mr.

Treacy. Have tried to contact Treacy by email, telephone and FAX and

have not had a reply to the numbers given on the hospital website.

Does anyone know how I can get through to his office? Dr. de Smet

has been really helpful and am definitely leaning towards him but

have one worry - I may end up having to travel alone (will be going

from Costa Rica to Belgium, then to California to recouperate before

returning to Costa Rica). I am just a little concerned as to whether

I will feel up to negotiating all the airport hassle at just around

10 days post op. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

>

> Marie

>

May 5, 2002

Marie,

While you referred to your weight, I haven't seen anything on your

age.

For an example of the recovery of a young (49) person, search for

Dru Dixon's post. He flew home from Belgium on day 5, saw 20

patients in his office on day 6 and delivered 3 babies on day 7.

I'm a more mature (63) overweight (300 lbs) so my recovery was

a lot slower. I was released from the hospital to the Holiday Inn

(across the freeway) the second day post surgery (42 hrs from

recovery room to motel room). Dr De Smet, his assistant and

Mark the phys therapist visited that afternoon and everyday until I

left. The next morning I walked (with crutches) 3/4 mile back to

the hospital to wish a fellow surfer from England good by and

walked back. On day 7 we spent the day in Brugge doing the

tourist thing, day 10 we took the train to Heidelberg and on day11

the train to Paris. I spent the days 12 & 13 touring Paris &

Versailles, and on day 14 flew home to Minnesota.

I had my wife with me, but have no doubts that I could have easily

have managed myself. If you need help or advise on packing

and what to expect, contact me and I will be happy to share. De

Smet is absolutely the BEST.

Verne

BHR 2/12/02

> Hi,

>

> I am investigating resurfacing with Dr. de Smet and also Mr.

Treacy. Have tried to contact Treacy by email, telephone and FAX

and have not had a reply to the numbers given on the hospital

website. Does anyone know how I can get through to his office?

Dr. de Smet has been really helpful and am definitely leaning

towards him but have one worry - I may end up having to travel

alone (will be going from Costa Rica to Belgium, then to

California to recouperate before returning to Costa Rica). I am

just a little concerned as to whether I will feel up to negotiating all

the airport hassle at just around 10 days post op. Any advice

would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

>

> Marie

>

May 5, 2002

Marie

Please contact me on roger@... for contact telephone number. &

e-mail address as Mr Treacy employs 2 separately located secretaries - 1 for

private and 1 for our NHS (National Health Service). He does both - NHS being

free for UK residents. I have passed the info to others but would prefer not to

openly display it. The hospital would not necessarily pass on your request to

Mr Treacy's secretary as Mr Treacy works at different hospitals in the

Birmingham area and as I understand from this site also one location overseas.

Best Wishes

Travelling in Belgium

Hi,

I am investigating resurfacing with Dr. de Smet and also Mr. Treacy. Have

tried to contact Treacy by email, telephone and FAX and have not had a reply to

the numbers given on the hospital website. Does anyone know how I can get

through to his office? Dr. de Smet has been really helpful and am definitely

leaning towards him but have one worry - I may end up having to travel alone

(will be going from Costa Rica to Belgium, then to California to recouperate

before returning to Costa Rica). I am just a little concerned as to whether I

will feel up to negotiating all the airport hassle at just around 10 days post

op. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Marie

May 5, 2002

An excellent jet-lag remedy:

ENAD Alert

Available at healthfood stores (i.e. GNC). This is a co-enzime that really

helps rest the biological clock. Place one pill under tounge about an hour

before landing...

C.

> Subj: Re: Travelling in Belgium

> Date:05/05/2002 06:26:24 GMT Daylight Time

> From:<A HREF= " mailto:ds922@... " >ds922@...</A>

> Reply-to:<A

HREF= " mailto:surfacehippy " >surfacehippy </A>

> To:<A

HREF= " mailto:surfacehippy " >surfacehippy </A>

> Sent from the Internet

>

> Marie,

>

> I flew from Los Angeles to furt to Brussels on 3/9/02 (arrived

> 3/10). I was resurfed on 3/12 by De Smet. On 3/19 I flew to

> furt and stayed with a friend until 3/23 and then flew back home

> to LA. Calif. is a long flight from Europe. I think what Verne said

> is true: it depends on your condition whether it is a good idea or

> not. If you are relatively young and strong, you will have an easier

> time. I'm 49 and in pretty good condition. I had one of my sisters

> along with me. I was in better shape than I thought I would be after

> the surgery and could walk OK with the crutches, but it was not an

> easy journey. I could have made it by myself, but I would have

> needed help from the airport staff.

>

> If you are going to do it alone then I would check with the airline

> you are flying with and see how much help you can get. At a minimum

> you would want any suitcases or heavy bags transported for you. It

> is very hard to do those things with crutches. The long flight from

> Europe back to Calif. can be tough. Get a seat with extra leg room

> or fly business class. You will need to get up often (once an hour

> at least) to prevent pain and also reduce the danger of clots.

>

> Another question is how mobile are you now? For me the trip over was

> as hard or harder than the trip back because I was in serious pain

> from the arthritis and (as was discovered when I was opened up) AVN.

> If you are in pretty good shape and can walk or get around now, then

> you will have only one challenging leg of the trip and not two.

>

> Jet lag is another factor. I get jet leg pretty bad. I was tired on

> certain parts of the trip and it was nice to have someone with me.

> The pain medicines I needed to take didn't make things any easier.

>

> If you have no option but to make trip alone, and you need the

> surgery, then you should be able to do it. But line up as much help

> as you can from the airlines and from De Smet and his staff ahead of

> time.

>

> Good luck. You are in good hands with Dr. De Smet.

>

> Schiller

>

> >

> > I am investigating resurfacing with Dr. de Smet and also Mr.

> Treacy. Have tried to contact Treacy by email, telephone and FAX and

> have not had a reply to the numbers given on the hospital website.

> Does anyone know how I can get through to his office? Dr. de Smet

> has been really helpful and am definitely leaning towards him but

> have one worry - I may end up having to travel alone (will be going

> from Costa Rica to Belgium, then to California to recouperate before

> returning to Costa Rica). I am just a little concerned as to whether

> I will feel up to negotiating all the airport hassle at just around

> 10 days post op. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

> >

> > Marie

May 5, 2002

Marie,

I flew from Los Angeles to furt to Brussels on 3/9/02 (arrived

3/10). I was resurfed on 3/12 by De Smet. On 3/19 I flew to

furt and stayed with a friend until 3/23 and then flew back home

to LA. Calif. is a long flight from Europe. I think what Verne said

is true: it depends on your condition whether it is a good idea or

not. If you are relatively young and strong, you will have an easier

time. I'm 49 and in pretty good condition. I had one of my sisters

along with me. I was in better shape than I thought I would be after

the surgery and could walk OK with the crutches, but it was not an

easy journey. I could have made it by myself, but I would have

needed help from the airport staff.

If you are going to do it alone then I would check with the airline

you are flying with and see how much help you can get. At a minimum

you would want any suitcases or heavy bags transported for you. It

is very hard to do those things with crutches. The long flight from

Europe back to Calif. can be tough. Get a seat with extra leg room

or fly business class. You will need to get up often (once an hour

at least) to prevent pain and also reduce the danger of clots.

Another question is how mobile are you now? For me the trip over was

as hard or harder than the trip back because I was in serious pain

from the arthritis and (as was discovered when I was opened up) AVN.

If you are in pretty good shape and can walk or get around now, then

you will have only one challenging leg of the trip and not two.

Jet lag is another factor. I get jet leg pretty bad. I was tired on

certain parts of the trip and it was nice to have someone with me.

The pain medicines I needed to take didn't make things any easier.

If you have no option but to make trip alone, and you need the

surgery, then you should be able to do it. But line up as much help

as you can from the airlines and from De Smet and his staff ahead of

time.

Good luck. You are in good hands with Dr. De Smet.

Schiller