Post by zdajani on Dec 14, 2012 7:20:47 GMT -6
I started this blog right before surgery and finished it the night I was leaving the hospital.
I'm about to go into surgery on Monday at noon with Dr Mike Chen. I have been really impressed with first his mastery of my condition and how to remove my spinal tumor. I went to another doctor as well from Cedars Sinai and although i was impressed with him as well, he misdiagnosed my condition. After a consultation with a Neuroradioligist, we confirmed Dr. Chen really knows his stuff. He was referred to me by an Ortho surgeon that i have in the family and he said Dr Mike Chen is 'the Best in the Country/WORLD when it comes to spinal tumor surgery. You would be so blessed to have someone like Dr Chen accept you case." WOW, THAT IS WHO I WANTED! But i needed him to see me the next day, without an appointent scheduled yet. How would that ever happen?? Mona, at Dr Chen's office, MADE IT HAPPEN with the help of course with Dr Chen.
So City of Hope as a hospital, as I was waiting to see Dr Chen, was not impressive at all. In fact it resembled a county hospital with lines everywhere, not enough seating in the hallways, and it just seemed understaffed. But I remembered all my family of doctors telling me over and over, dont go to the most comfortable hospital. Go to the BEST doctor. So I got past that poor experience quickly and focused on Dr Chen.
I also was really impressed with his bedside manner. He actually did not rush me through my initial appointment, he fit me into his schedule last minute, and he even took the time to introduce me to another one of his patients that just had a more invasive surgery. The other patient, by the way, resoundingly recommended Dr Chen. Finally, Dr Chen really worked hard with my insurance issue in that the City of Hope hospital in Duarte cancelled their contract with Health Net my insurance carrier. So, his staff worked had to get me into another hospital called Hunntington Hospital, in Pasadena, which was still in contract with Health Net.
I'm going into this surgery Monday with positive thoughts and know his skills will give me the best possible outcome.
I highly recommend Dr Chen and his entire team. They have all been beyond my expectations so far.
I am four days post operative and have almost 80% feelings back in my legs and feet! This was supposed to take years to get back to a normal level. My surgery was the removal of a spinal cord tumor now know to be follicular lymphoma. Dr. Mike Chen knew exactly what this was, how to remove it safely, and discussed with me his record on spinal surgeries...nearly 100% are positive. He made it clear that is no indication of my future results but I pushed him for that figure because I'm a numbers guy.
So post op, he woke me up, asked how I was feeling and made sure I was comfortable. Comfortable? I felt NO PAIN what so ever. I just thought I woke up from a deep sleep. I was then taken to a recovery room for a night and had a nurse round the clock just to make sure anything i needed was being taken addressed. The next day, Dr Mike Chen moved me to the surgical recovery ward where I was ordered another two days of bed rest. He did not want me to move out of bed. (That was restless but manageable)
By Thursday afternoon i was up, walking, cleaning and arranging my hospital room, going to the bathroom, etc... ALMOST back to normal!
Dr Chen made it a point to visit me every single day and took as much time as I needed to ask him all my written questions and to honestly let me know how I was doing. He cared about my pain, (very low,) how my wound was healing, how I was holding up, and he always had a very positive nurturing attitude. He also continued to discuss with me new tests he wanted to order, their purpose and their results immediately when they came available. It blows me away, even now, that I only met him a little over a week ago and he has changed my life forever, for the better. So now that we know it's lymphoma, he is not just sending me to an Oncologist. Rather, he is staying involved in every step to make sure that I'm getting the best care and treatments, and if he can offer any insight to any of these specialist, he has already proven to be more than willing. He actually wants to help!
My wound was changed by him today and he said it looks perfect. In fact, i can take off my dressing in a few days and even start taking showers in a few days after that!!!
Honestly, I I could give Dr Mike Chen a Trillion stars out of 10 being the best, I would. He saved my life, gave me my life back, and held my hand through the entire process. He truly is my hero.
I'm about to go into surgery on Monday at noon with Dr Mike Chen. I have been really impressed with first his mastery of my condition and how to remove my spinal tumor. I went to another doctor as well from Cedars Sinai and although i was impressed with him as well, he misdiagnosed my condition. After a consultation with a Neuroradioligist, we confirmed Dr. Chen really knows his stuff. He was referred to me by an Ortho surgeon that i have in the family and he said Dr Mike Chen is 'the Best in the Country/WORLD when it comes to spinal tumor surgery. You would be so blessed to have someone like Dr Chen accept you case." WOW, THAT IS WHO I WANTED! But i needed him to see me the next day, without an appointent scheduled yet. How would that ever happen?? Mona, at Dr Chen's office, MADE IT HAPPEN with the help of course with Dr Chen.
So City of Hope as a hospital, as I was waiting to see Dr Chen, was not impressive at all. In fact it resembled a county hospital with lines everywhere, not enough seating in the hallways, and it just seemed understaffed. But I remembered all my family of doctors telling me over and over, dont go to the most comfortable hospital. Go to the BEST doctor. So I got past that poor experience quickly and focused on Dr Chen.
I also was really impressed with his bedside manner. He actually did not rush me through my initial appointment, he fit me into his schedule last minute, and he even took the time to introduce me to another one of his patients that just had a more invasive surgery. The other patient, by the way, resoundingly recommended Dr Chen. Finally, Dr Chen really worked hard with my insurance issue in that the City of Hope hospital in Duarte cancelled their contract with Health Net my insurance carrier. So, his staff worked had to get me into another hospital called Hunntington Hospital, in Pasadena, which was still in contract with Health Net.
I'm going into this surgery Monday with positive thoughts and know his skills will give me the best possible outcome.
I highly recommend Dr Chen and his entire team. They have all been beyond my expectations so far.
I am four days post operative and have almost 80% feelings back in my legs and feet! This was supposed to take years to get back to a normal level. My surgery was the removal of a spinal cord tumor now know to be follicular lymphoma. Dr. Mike Chen knew exactly what this was, how to remove it safely, and discussed with me his record on spinal surgeries...nearly 100% are positive. He made it clear that is no indication of my future results but I pushed him for that figure because I'm a numbers guy.
So post op, he woke me up, asked how I was feeling and made sure I was comfortable. Comfortable? I felt NO PAIN what so ever. I just thought I woke up from a deep sleep. I was then taken to a recovery room for a night and had a nurse round the clock just to make sure anything i needed was being taken addressed. The next day, Dr Mike Chen moved me to the surgical recovery ward where I was ordered another two days of bed rest. He did not want me to move out of bed. (That was restless but manageable)
By Thursday afternoon i was up, walking, cleaning and arranging my hospital room, going to the bathroom, etc... ALMOST back to normal!
Dr Chen made it a point to visit me every single day and took as much time as I needed to ask him all my written questions and to honestly let me know how I was doing. He cared about my pain, (very low,) how my wound was healing, how I was holding up, and he always had a very positive nurturing attitude. He also continued to discuss with me new tests he wanted to order, their purpose and their results immediately when they came available. It blows me away, even now, that I only met him a little over a week ago and he has changed my life forever, for the better. So now that we know it's lymphoma, he is not just sending me to an Oncologist. Rather, he is staying involved in every step to make sure that I'm getting the best care and treatments, and if he can offer any insight to any of these specialist, he has already proven to be more than willing. He actually wants to help!
My wound was changed by him today and he said it looks perfect. In fact, i can take off my dressing in a few days and even start taking showers in a few days after that!!!
Honestly, I I could give Dr Mike Chen a Trillion stars out of 10 being the best, I would. He saved my life, gave me my life back, and held my hand through the entire process. He truly is my hero.
