Thursday, February 14, 2008

Flights and Pre-op update

We had quite the odyssey getting here, but it was not all bad. Due to some weather in JFK, we were delayed getting there, and just barely missed our 7 PM connection to London at JFK. It was snowing at JFK. So, I left Mom at the gate for the 9 PM flight, and went out to the American desk, to find a long line of folks. Finally got through that, and the agent told me they were sold out. I asked him to check business, and voila, there were seats. So we did the trans-atlantic in business, which was wonderful. We took off a couple of hours late in JFK due to de-icing, so missed the connection to Munich in London. And the next flight was cancelled. And the next flight was delayed. You get the idea. We finally got to the hotel in Munich around 7PM.

The Holiday Inn is fine, and a relative bargain at 120 euros. A little further from the Alpha Klinik than the Sheraton, but easily walkable, unless one were really disabled.

Germany, at least the few parts I have seen, is quite nice. Clean, well-maintained roads, very polite people. We passed the Bayern Munich Stadium coming from the airport. A huge red lit-up stadium.

We spent about 4.5 hours at the Alpha Klinik. Everything was first-class. Dr. Zeegers spent about 1.5 hours with us reviewing everything. I had to get a new MRI, because there was a problem reading the CD, which apparently happens all the time with people coming from the U.S. So bring the physical films if you are coming here. They also did a sonogram of all my insides, and an EKG. Doc says all looks good, and I should live to 200!

The good news is that I only need two levels done. The other good news was that we did not need another discography to determine this! Dr. Zeegers confirmed that my facet joints look good.

So, the surgery will be tomorrow at 7:30 AM. I will perhaps post tomorrow night, if I am not too doped up on pain meds. Wireless internet in the Klinik!

2 comments:

mmglobal said...

Dear Kirk and Danielle,

It won't be long before you are on the other side of the surgery. I hope that you post-op experience exceeds mine. It was five and a half years ago that I was in your shoes and my results should provide some encouragement for you.

I saw your blog about indoor soccer, so I dug out a treasured memory about my return to soccer and the kids that I had coached and loved. This was the most amazing experience. I hope you enjoy the read. Pick up a jersey for yourself... you may play in it a few months from now. All the best.

Here is what I posted, 5 years ago to the day: "OMG, I just played soccer!"

Wishing you all the best,

Mark

Danielle,Kirk and Mateo Leach said...

Mark, I checked it out. Cool stuff. I hope I will be doing the same shortly. It really can get you emotional to be out of pain after so long. Take care, Kirk