Last month, I was able to spend some time with a patient of Dr. Zeegers who had a Charite’ ADR implanted in 1994. He still plays tennis, 17 years later! I wrote about him on this thread:
http://www.ispine.org/forum/ispine/1...te-fusion.html.
After that gathering, I began to think about my tennis date with Wolfgang Lehmann, the very first Charite’ patient. He was operated on by Dr. Karin Beuttner-Janz back in 1984. He still plays tennis, 27 years later! I wrote about my tennis date with him
here. (Watch the video too!)
Dr. Zeegers and I began to discuss: “If we get patients from the 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s, 2010’s together, we can celebrate four decades of artificial disc replacements!” Yes, I know… Dr. Zeegers began implanting ADR’s in 1989, so that’s only 22 years; but it still represents ADR surgeries in 4 decades! The more we talked about it, the more we liked the idea. In my trips to Dr. Zeegers clinics, I have met several patients who were wheelchair-bound before their surgeries. I can’t wait to see them dancing.
Dr. Zeegers and I are planning on throwing a bash on Saturday, February 5th, 2011. The party will be in Maastricht, Netherlands and will be from 16:00 to 22:00. (That’s 4pm to 10pm for some of us.) I’ll have more about the party soon. I’ll be posting on this thread, creating a website, and sending emails. (get on the mailing list by RSVP'ing.) Afterwards, the website will stay up indefinitely, with pictures and videos from the party.
I know that not too many of us can drop what we are doing and go to Europe for a party on 2 weeks notice. For Dr. Zeegers’ patients who would still like to participate, you may do so remotely. Please send an email to 4DecadesADR (at) gmail.com with a testimonial and or some pictures you’d like to share. Success for some of us means barefoot waterskiing, while for others, it just means being able to walk to the park with your kids or grandkids. Not all of us are out of pain, but most of us are substantially improved.
Again, Dr. Zeegers’ patients, please RSVP to 4DecadesADR (at) gmail.com and if you can’t make it please still send us a note and/or some pictures, videos, … whatever. I’ll be sharing them at the party on the 5th.
I am really looking forward to this!
All the best,
Mark