Re: a miracle

September 10, 2003

> Unbelievable. I just emailed my X-rays and info request to De Smet

last

> night, and heard back from him this afternoon. Turns out I'm a good

> candidate, and he has spaces in late November. After slogging

through

> Canada's murky medicare mess for so long, this feels like some kind

of

> miracle. As much as it burns me to take my health money out of this

country

> after paying taxes here for 30 years, and despite having grown up

with a

> doctor dad who was part of the first generation of proud Prairie

medicare

> innovators, I am thrilled to see a ray of (free market) light at

the end of

> the tunnel. All I can say is, thank God I can afford this. And too

bad so

> many people can't!

>

> A more pressing/practical question, for all you De Smet hipsters: I

want to

> book travel asap in order to get it on points, and I'm wondering

whether

> it's enough to get to Ghent one day before hospital admission and

to fly

> home 2 days after the fifth hotel day. That puts me on the ground

for a

> total of 9 days, including half a day and night free in Gent and a

full day

> and overnight at the end in Brussels, during which I have no plan

to tour,

> like some of you keeners. I just want to be comfortable and try to

sleep and

> then get my sorry ass back on the plane (biz class). Does this make

sense?

>

> By the way, I'm thinking of taking my sister along for the ride

instead of

> the obvious candidate - my husband, who is not at his best in the

role of

> nursemaid. Haven't exactly broken this to him yet, but sister and

> mother-in-law are on side.

>

> Thanks for any feedback.

>

> a

Hi a,

I am scheduled to have my right hip resurfaced with Dr. DeSmet on

Tuesday, December 2nd, checking into the hospital the day before. I

scheduled the surgery in very early December a few months back, as

December is the best month for me to be out of the office for 4

weeks. (I am a dentist here in El Paso, Texas.) I am flying over on

Friday evening November 28th, arriving in Brussels Saturday morning

the 29th. I planned it that way to hopefully get over jet lag!

I am going alone, as my wife needs to stay here to take care of our

two sons, ages 11, and 13. Because of that, I am heading straight to

Gent when I arrive in Brussels. I booked the Holiday Inn-Gent UZ for

the whole time, even when I am in the hospital for the three nights.

I was advised by Dr. DeSmet to stay until the next week after my

surgery, so I depart Gent on Thursday, December 11th, spending my

last night in Brussels at the Sheraton-Airport. I was advised by

fellow hippys to do this in order not to miss my flight home to

Texas, which leaves Friday morning December 12. Like you, I used my

miles to upgrade to Business Class, to have more leg room, and

comfort! I think your gameplan of going home 5 days after you are

released to the Holiday Inn is reasonable, especially since you will

have someone with you!

I have learned so much from this forum, that I will be forever

indebeted to all of the wonderful people who share their experiences

and advice.

Let me know if our trips to Dr. DeSmet will overlap. You are

welcome to e-mail me diret if you like at emcelro1@..., or

thru this forum. I wish you the very best thru your surgery, and if I

can help you in any way, please let me know! I have been studying all

of the posts on this forum for many months in order to make my trip

go smoothly!

Ed from El Paso

September 10, 2003

Hi a,

One day before hospital admission is enough if you don't plan to

sightsee. Going home seven days after surgery is do-able but I would

recommend staying as long as possible. My surgery was July 1st . I

arrived a day before admission as well but I stayed for 12 days after

surgery and was glad I did.

You will have PT with De Smet's therapist every day and it makes a

world of difference. The seven hour flight home was not too bad at 12

days later but I had significant swelling in my operated hip (which

is common) and couldn't imagine doing it earlier.

Izumi

> Unbelievable. I just emailed my X-rays and info request to De Smet

last

> night, and heard back from him this afternoon. Turns out I'm a good

> candidate, and he has spaces in late November. After slogging

through

> Canada's murky medicare mess for so long, this feels like some kind

of

> miracle. As much as it burns me to take my health money out of this

country

> after paying taxes here for 30 years, and despite having grown up

with a

> doctor dad who was part of the first generation of proud Prairie

medicare

> innovators, I am thrilled to see a ray of (free market) light at

the end of

> the tunnel. All I can say is, thank God I can afford this. And too

bad so

> many people can't!

>

> A more pressing/practical question, for all you De Smet hipsters: I

want to

> book travel asap in order to get it on points, and I'm wondering

whether

> it's enough to get to Ghent one day before hospital admission and

to fly

> home 2 days after the fifth hotel day. That puts me on the ground

for a

> total of 9 days, including half a day and night free in Gent and a

full day

> and overnight at the end in Brussels, during which I have no plan

to tour,

> like some of you keeners. I just want to be comfortable and try to

sleep and

> then get my sorry ass back on the plane (biz class). Does this make

sense?

>

> By the way, I'm thinking of taking my sister along for the ride

instead of

> the obvious candidate - my husband, who is not at his best in the

role of

> nursemaid. Haven't exactly broken this to him yet, but sister and

> mother-in-law are on side.

>

> Thanks for any feedback.

>

> a

September 10, 2003

Hia

I just got back from Ghent last week, so it's pretty fresh in my mind. I

was advised to go at least 2 days early, to get over jet lag, and be really

rested for the operation. In hindsight, I think that's very good advice. I

actually went about 6 days early, to see a few sights, but that wasn't

necessary, and probbly a waste of money because I was in such pain I could only

walk around for a couple of hours on those cobble stone streets. You must check

in the day before surgery for tests, by the way. After the operation and two

days post-op in hospital I stayed for 5 days at the Holiday Inn and then one

night in a hotel in Amsterdam, as we were flying back from there. If I were to

do it again I think I'd stay longer, because the plane trip was HELL. I was

flying from Amsterdam to Vancouver, and then home to Penticton. The sitting is

still painful at that point, as the stitiches pull and the incision isn't

healed. What with requirement to check in at the airport 3 hours ahead of

departure, the 11 hour flight to Van, the 3 hour wait in Vancouver airport and

45 minute flight home, it added up to an exhausting 18 hours. It took me 3 days

to recover to the point where I'd been when I left Ghent.

I took my daughter, which turned out to be a much better idea than taking my

husband - definitely made a better nursemaid. I found that the nurses were too

busy to give you all the help you need, and in spite of what has sometimes been

said here, their English communication skills aren't always that great - we had

several miscommunications and many long involved struggles to get meanings

across., so a sympathetic companion with the energy to argue was a godsend. I

certainly wouldn't have wanted to be there, in a foreign country far from home,

lying helplessly in bed, and unable to get what I needed readily.

I agree with you about our Canadian health system, it REEEaly picked me to

be taking my money outside the country, but am I ever glad now that I did! Two

days after the operation I was able to see myself sideways in a mirror, and

realized that I could at last pull my pelvis in underneath in a tilt, so my gut

wasn't stuck way out. I can't tell you how much effort I wasted trying to do ab

exercises, to no avail, thinking that the problem was weak stomach muscles Then

it struck me like a flash that it was as if I had been locked in a cage, sort of

like those clamps they put on car tires, and now I was free! I can stand up

straight at last, and pull in that gut!

Sharry

RBHR De Smet 27/08/03

a miracle

Unbelievable. I just emailed my X-rays and info request to De Smet last

night, and heard back from him this afternoon. Turns out I'm a good

candidate, and he has spaces in late November. After slogging through

Canada's murky medicare mess for so long, this feels like some kind of

miracle. As much as it burns me to take my health money out of this country

after paying taxes here for 30 years, and despite having grown up with a

doctor dad who was part of the first generation of proud Prairie medicare

innovators, I am thrilled to see a ray of (free market) light at the end of

the tunnel. All I can say is, thank God I can afford this. And too bad so

many people can't!

A more pressing/practical question, for all you De Smet hipsters: I want to

book travel asap in order to get it on points, and I'm wondering whether

it's enough to get to Ghent one day before hospital admission and to fly

home 2 days after the fifth hotel day. That puts me on the ground for a

total of 9 days, including half a day and night free in Gent and a full day

and overnight at the end in Brussels, during which I have no plan to tour,

like some of you keeners. I just want to be comfortable and try to sleep and

then get my sorry ass back on the plane (biz class). Does this make sense?

By the way, I'm thinking of taking my sister along for the ride instead of

the obvious candidate - my husband, who is not at his best in the role of

nursemaid. Haven't exactly broken this to him yet, but sister and

mother-in-law are on side.

Thanks for any feedback.

a

September 10, 2003

Hi Ed

One thing you might want to do - my daughter and I took the train to Ghent

from Brussels and found it fairly daunting, crowded, rushed and so I was worried

about taking it on the return trip. The Holiday Inn can give you the name of a

taxi company that will drive you from Ghent to Brussels for 95 euros, which I

think is worth it. As it happens, we had flown into Amsterdam which was cheaper

than flying into Brussels, took the train to Brussels to see some of the

country, and that train ride was awful - couldn't understand the announcements

in Dutch as to when to change trains, had to rush upstairs and down at the

station where we did change trains, and I knew at that point that I couldn't

repeat that with a new hip, so (believe this or not!) it was cheaper to hire a

taxi from Ghent to Amsterdam, that to book 2 flights one way. Live and learn -

I should have flown from Amsterdam - Brussels and return.