got an appt!

[Guest guest]

,

Dr. Ondra is WONDERFUL!!! He did my surgery (T2-S1 fusion, removal of Harrington rod, etc) in 2001. I cannot say enough about him. His personality is great and his skills are superb. If you search his name in the feisty home site, I'm sure you can retrieve my previous posts regarding him. There are a few of us on this site that are very familiar with Dr. Ondra. I have yet to see anything negative, except maybe that he is so busy it is often difficult to get an appointment. I know he tries to reserve himself for the toughest cases. I too am in a Chicago suburb. If you would like to discuss more through private email, feel free to contact me.

Donna

dmdurgin@...

got an appt!

Hi everyone!I finally quit procrastinating and looked into making an appointment to see a doctor. I live a few hours from Chicago, so I am going there to see Dr. Ondra. Does anyone have any experience with him (good or bad) that they'd like to share with me? I was going to try to make an appt a few months ago, then I put it on hold. I called last week to make an appt and they told me that he was scheduling out into February & March already. They require that you send in an x-ray or MRI report before they will allow you to schedule an appt. So I wrote a letter about my current concerns and my hubby faxed it to their office on Friday along with my current xray report. The appointment desk called me today and they want me to come in next week Tuesday! I'm happy to get in so fast, but should I be concerned that they want me in this quickly? I told her that I am unable to drive anymore, so I'd have to check

with a few people to see if I can come in on that date. She gave me several dates after the holidays as well, in case I can't get a driver for next week's time slot.Even if I can't get a driver for next week, I am so happy to finally be getting this stuff looked into Maybe my pain and my problems have nothing to do with my back, but at least I will have tried to have it looked into.I've been listening to everyone else's stories, and I have a list of questions I will be sure to ask.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your comments, Donna. I had also corresponded at some

length via email with -- last month, I believe -- telling her

how great I felt Dr. Ondra is. (, I hope you received all

those letters. I thought you had responded.) As you note, Donna,

several of us have also raved about him in detail online.

I only wish I still knew some people in his office. His nurse was

supposed to call me after my pump-doc's nurse collared her about my

(and my brother's) concern that I may recently have experienced a

sudden loss of correction. Somehow he and I missed my final post-op

exam in 2005, and I was beginning to wonder whether everything had

fused o.k. As you might recall, I sustained several spontaneous

fractures in the fusion mass which necessitated a fourth, emergency

revision procedure in 2004. This carried a pretty high risk of

paraplegia but fortunately seemed to turn out o.k. I just don't know

what has happened with my spine since then.

A week after this nurse was supposedly going to call me about my

acute concerns, I got a call from someone who identified herself by a

different name and who I assume was a receptionist. She told me to

come in at 8:00 a.m. on January 11. I asked if the appointment could

be any later in the day and she said no, that Ondra was " squeezing me

in " for that time.

I realized afterwards that she had said NOTHING about getting any

spinal films! Something tells me they are likely to realize this

oversight about two days before the appointment, then call and tell

me to come in on an earlier date for the x-rays. I have emailed my

concerns to the first nurse but have not yet heard back. Obviously it

is next to worthless for me to see Dr. Ondra without any current x-

rays -- and if the x-rays are o.k., there's no need to see him at all.

I do think the world of him, but I have always had a few gripes about

the scheduling-and-appointments process in that office. Too many last-

minute cancellations on their end, stuff like that. They need to

realize that many patients have extraordinary difficulties getting

themselves to the doctor at all -- in 's case, I hope it has

sunk in with them that the distance is something else, plus she has

MS. You can never be really confident that you will be seeing him

when you were supposed to see him, regardless of what extraordinary

logistical arrangements you may have had to make so as to get

yourself to the blankety-blank appointment. This makes it very hard

to plan.

I do not like to bitch this much about such a wonderful doctor. I

just worry sometimes that in praising several revision surgeons at

this site, I may have brought them enough additional " business " that

they have become less accessible or accomodating than ever!

I am also just a little crabby because my pump-revision failed soon

after it was performed, and I am also trying to schedule yet another

pump revision surgery. Of course this will take place on the pump-

neurosurgeon's schedule -- perhaps the first day of Hanukkah or

Christmas Eve or some such time! I like my pump-doctor too, despite

all the hassles I have had with him. I like and respect all these

guys. I just wish, wish, wish they would value patients' time a

little more.

Best,

>

> ,

>

> Dr. Ondra is WONDERFUL!!! He did my surgery (T2-S1 fusion, removal

of Harrington rod, etc) in 2001. I cannot say enough about him. His

personality is great and his skills are superb. If you search his

name in the feisty home site, I'm sure you can retrieve my previous

posts regarding him. There are a few of us on this site that are very

familiar with Dr. Ondra. I have yet to see anything negative, except

maybe that he is so busy it is often difficult to get an appointment.

I know he tries to reserve himself for the toughest cases. I too am

in a Chicago suburb. If you would like to discuss more through

private email, feel free to contact me.

>

> Donna

> dmdurgin@...

>

>

> got an appt!

>

> Hi everyone!

> I finally quit procrastinating and looked into making an

appointment

> to see a doctor. I live a few hours from Chicago, so I am going

there

> to see Dr. Ondra. Does anyone have any experience with him

> (good or bad) that they'd like to share with me?

> I was going to try to make an appt a few months ago, then I put it

on

> hold. I called last week to make an appt and they told me that he

was

> scheduling out into February & March already. They require that you

> send in an x-ray or MRI report before they will allow you to

schedule

> an appt. So I wrote a letter about my current concerns and my hubby

> faxed it to their office on Friday along with my current xray

report.

> The appointment desk called me today and they want me to come in

next

> week Tuesday! I'm happy to get in so fast, but should I be

concerned

> that they want me in this quickly? I told her that I am unable to

> drive anymore, so I'd have to check with a few people to see if I

can

> come in on that date. She gave me several dates after the holidays

as

> well, in case I can't get a driver for next week's time slot.

> Even if I can't get a driver for next week, I am so happy to

finally

> be getting this stuff looked into Maybe my pain and my problems

> have nothing to do with my back, but at least I will have tried to

> have it looked into.

> I've been listening to everyone else's stories, and I have a list

of

> questions I will be sure to ask.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

I finally quit procrastinating and looked into making an appointment

to see a doctor. I live a few hours from Chicago, so I am going there

to see Dr. Ondra. Does anyone have any experience with him

(good or bad) that they'd like to share with me?

I was going to try to make an appt a few months ago, then I put it on

hold. I called last week to make an appt and they told me that he was

scheduling out into February & March already. They require that you

send in an x-ray or MRI report before they will allow you to schedule

an appt. So I wrote a letter about my current concerns and my hubby

faxed it to their office on Friday along with my current xray report.

The appointment desk called me today and they want me to come in next

week Tuesday! I'm happy to get in so fast, but should I be concerned

that they want me in this quickly? I told her that I am unable to

drive anymore, so I'd have to check with a few people to see if I can

come in on that date. She gave me several dates after the holidays as

well, in case I can't get a driver for next week's time slot.

Even if I can't get a driver for next week, I am so happy to finally

be getting this stuff looked into Maybe my pain and my problems

have nothing to do with my back, but at least I will have tried to

have it looked into.

I've been listening to everyone else's stories, and I have a list of

questions I will be sure to ask.

[Guest guest]

Hi !

I was hoping things were going alright for you, as I noticed you

hadn't posted in a while. I'm sorry to hear about your continuing

pump problems. It must be so frustrating for you to be dealing with

this, when you've had good pain relief with this in the past. I sure

hope that things get straightened out for you soon. And yes, your

previous emails about Ondra are mostly what pushed me into finally

making an appointment (I took a horribly long time to simplify and re-

write that letter). Thanks so much for all of your help

>

> Thanks for your comments, Donna. I had also corresponded at some

> length via email with -- last month, I believe -- telling

her