Laura ProDisc L4-5 January 2005 - Straubing
	In early November 2004, I was seeking help for disabling lumbar pain that I’d had for years.  In my search for answers, I started contacting patients who’d been overseas for surgery.  Thankfully, a successful Stenum patient referred me to Mark.  From my first e-mail to Mark: “I am a single mom with a daughter 16 and a son 7.  I am 41 years old, and I haven’t been able to pick up or lift my son since he was 3…it makes me so sad…and I know I don’t have to tell YOU about the horrors of “living” (if you can call it that) on constant narcotic pain medications.” I contacted Mark looking for doctors who do pro bono work.  I didn’t feel there was any way I could afford going overseas for surgeryand didn’t know what I was going to do.
Mark told me that it was important to discover what my options were medically and then decide what to do based upon what Icould afford, but not to not discover my options because I didn’t think I could afford it.  Mark gave me what he called the “single mother” discount, and offered to present my case for free. After having a dialogue with Doctors Bertagnoli and Fenk-Meyer, it was unclear whether or not I was a candidate for disc replacement surgery.  I was completely non-functional and really felt that I was at the end of my rope.  Since I had no medical insurance, even if I needed a fusion instead of disc replacement, Germany was still a lower-cost option.  Having learned more about Doctor Bertagnoli I became convinced that he was really my best option, whether fusion or ADR was the ultimate solution.
	I was able to beg borrow and steal enough money to get over to Germany.  I didn’t have anybody to help me.  Mark was able to arrange things so that I would be there while he was there with other clients.  It was great to get together with Mark, Mark S, Chuck D, and Jill.  The camaraderie we shared as spine patients together is something I will never forget.  Doctors Bertagnoli and Fenk-Meyer, the entire Pro-Spine staff, and the Bogen Hospital staff were amazing.  The facilities and care were first rate.  After getting out of the hospital in Bogen I moved over to the Hotel Romerhoff.  The owner, Eckhard, really goes out of his way to help people and made my stay very pleasant.
Mark’s assistance throughout the entire process was invaluable.  Thankfully, I was able toget disc replacement instead of fusion and I had a single level ProDisc that was ultimately a wonderful success.  I never imagined that I would have such a wonderful experience going for major spine surgery. After returning home from Germany, I still struggled and became frustrated with ongoing pain and high doses of medication for several months.  I decided to stop the medications, cold turkey, to see where I was.  Amazingly, I discovered that after the withdrawals stopped, the back pain was also gone!  After I got off the medication I came back to life—I was able to go back to work and to become fully involved as a mother again.  What an amazing transformation.  I am now more than two years post-op and still doing great!  Thank you Mark, thank you Dr. Bertagnoli, and the entire Pro-Spine operation for giving me my life back.