THE BEGINNING... Page 1
                                                                                      
Five years ago, we were on the top of the world! Five years....it seems like million years now.

I had the CAD Engineering job at Texas Instruments In AZ that I had worked so hard to attain, and then, even harder to prove myself in. I was healthy, full of life and euphorically happy! My husband cherished me and I adored his charm and wit! It seemed we were THE happiest and the most enamored couple on earth! We studied and worked hard, but even that was a thrilling adventure for us - given that we both worked for Texas Instruments, in the midst of great inventors.  Health and fitness were a way of life. We would attend the LA fitness gym sometimes 3 times a week, competing on who could do the most sit-ups. Every single evening, as the oppressive Tucson sun set behind Star Pass Mountains, we would go for long walks on the University of Arizona campus - where we both had pursued degrees. I loved to walk, it was my addiction! Sometimes we would drive up Mount Lemon, or take a 10 mile hike in Bear Canyon under the 100 degree sun! Weekends simply never have enough time - walks to the park, tennis, Frisbee, football,swimming - you name it.  For a break, we were gathering our books and going to a local family-owned coffee-shop for a cool ice-mocha and some studying - or planning our next adventure. We used to travel a lot too - one or two major trips per year to places like Mexico, Jamaica, Russia, Italy but always on low budget, using auction sites to find deals. We would skip out on weekends or short vacations, throwing a couple bags into the Jeep and driving to San Diego, the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Show low, Pinetop, Mexico. Who needs an expensive hotel if there is so much to explore!

In August of 2004, we went on our first Italy vacation. Lago di Como stole our hearts forever...and that was the major reason of accepting the offer from T.I. to move with both our jobs to Germany Munich in Jan.1 2005.

I hurt my back (disc rupture) while packing to go to Germany in the late November 2004. Actually, to be technically correct, it wasnt from packing. I had a friend with her 3 y.o. over. The girl never seen a cat and when I bent over to pick something up, she saw our fluffy Persian approaching. Terrified, she jumped on my neck. The unexpected load of 3 y.o. jerked my lower back I suppose. I had an uncomfortable feeling in the lower back but it was all I felt. The same night, I stared having a bothersome pain, but I ignored it. It subsided in the next two days. At the end of the second day, in the evening, I was siting on the floor, packing some trinkets into the box. It was a Thanksgiving day. I got up to check turkey in the oven and....couldnt straighten up. Neither my husband nor me knew anything about backs back then. I spent two weeks in bed, then worked a few days before going on Christmas break.  We wanted to cancel the transfer, but were assured by the Texas Instruments relocation specialist that Germany's Public Health Insurance would cover all 'pre-existing' conditions ... immediately.  So, we understood that it was safe to continue. We were being loyal and trusting  employees.

When we got to Germany after a 2-day flight, I was in serious pain.  But, every clinic we went to refused to see me because our German public health insurance (TKK) was holding my insurance card (so much of our employer's promise 'all 'pre-existing' conditions covered immediately'...).   We both were paying 14% of our salaries into the health insurance (employer pays 1/2 of it), and I was dying from pain ... We paid out of pocket to visit a doctor but I couldnt legally take a leave of absence with no insurance card on my hands. So, I had worked through pain, getting much worse, in the time that I could have taken leave, and recovered! I probably could have saved my disc if I had stopped working then. I could'nt quit, because I had to work for 18 months according to the Texas Instruments contract.

Finally, after about 3 months, I got my 'TKK' card.The neurologist ordered an MRI, which showed I had 'Degenerative Disc Disease' at my L4/L5 disc. We discovered that I was working on a ruptured disc. We have never heard of DDD back then, nor did we know how serious it was.  This DDD, we were told, is irreparable, but many people have DDD and do not have symptoms. 
In May 2005, I could hardly walk and sit from pain after an epidural injection. I didnt have a choice but to go on short-term ... and then long-term disability.

The next three years were a blur of pain, painkillers, getting cut open, stabbed, burned and yelled at...and an infinity.

Before we left Tucson, I was told by Texas Instrument's immigration attorney that I would have to return to the USA at 6 months, due to some strange I131 and N470 Visa requirements. So, even though I was barely able to walk due to pain, we didnt have a choice but to fly to Tucson in June 2005.  This time was best, because my husband needed to attend a Texas Instruments conference in Dallas on the way back, to present his project. I was hoping to get better somehow and received a  permission to work from Tucson's office. The flight from Munich to Tucson and driving must have torn my disc more. I ended up on an operating table in Phoenix. I was told by the surgeon that his minimally invasive IDET 'decompression' technique had 85% success rate, and that I would be on my feet in a couple days, and could fly in just four days. During the procedure, a 7mm cannula was hammered into my L4/5 disk, apparently leaving sequesters behind that were impinging on the root canal later. The procedure itself reminded me of the classic vampire scene, where the silver cross is hammered into the vampires heart to send it to Hell. For me, it wasn't my heart-it was my spine - but the effect was the same. I was being sent straight to Hell. The surgery started under local anesthesia and I could feel my whole spine jolting from the impact of the hammer... Modern, 21st Century Technology!?

So, my first endoscopic disc surgery was done by a surgeon in Phoenix who, unbeknown to us, was an investment partner of the Prodisc surgeon in Germany. He said I would need an artificial disc replacement (ADR) sooner or later and recommended that I have it done in Germany with Dr. Bertagnoli...(his partner, as we would learn years later). I should have stayed in bed and let the disc seal-up. Instead, we risked my surgery to fly to Dallas, out of loyalty to our company.  I ended up in bed, in a hotel in Dallas, for 6 weeks before I could even walk 5 minutes.  We had to fulfill our 18 months contracts with Texas Instruments and didnt have any choice but return back to Germany....in severe pain, on heavy narcotic pain killers.

Posted by Anastasia at 12/10/2009 11:42 AM
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: ProSpine Prodisc revision Prodisc bad outcome oversized Prodisc Texas Instruments fired disabled employee Dr.Bertagnoli and bad outcomes Texas Instruments Inc facets disc protrusion Prodisc Texas Instruments and Ethics Dr. Bertagnoli Straubing Germany Synthes disc prolapse DDD collapsed disc artificial disc replacement facet arthrosis Texas Instruments and Human Rights failed ADR ADR Dr.B Germany ADR contraindications Job13 grave error in treatment by Dr.Bertagnoli
 

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