When I dragged myself into the ER unable to put any weight on my back, because of the shocking pain going all the way from my back to my foot, they sent me for images. I heard that the images showed a herniation extending all the way to the back of the spinal cord. I was put on a wait-list for a microdiscectomy. That’s it! I lived in bed for 3 weeks urinating into a bottle. My leg was shrinking quickly. And finally, we called an ambulance and after a few days they drilled through the facet joints and removed the herniated part of the disc. After the recovery I felt great. But, while overhead pressing about 75lbs (34 kilos) I felt a pop and instant numbness down my leg. At that point I began looking for a more permanent solution. After a lot of research I learned about ADR, the l-esp and Dr. Biren Desai. I bypassed the medical tourist companies and contacted his hospital directly, filled out a form, uploaded an MRI, and got a report back saying I was a candidate for surgery on 1, but possibly 3 discs. So we set a surgery date and I wired money to the hospitals account. We decided to replace all 3. One had been crushed from an accident while a teenager, another herniated and another all dried out and ready to herniated. Then 7 days post surgery, after convincing Dr. Desai I was ready to travel, I flew back to Vancouver. I didn’t fully follow the rehab. I rested a lot then began Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength program but with very minor weight increases.

I am very grateful for the years of study and experience that Dr. Desai has spent in becoming such a skilled surgeon. And, now I can move again and participate in activities that add such joy to life.

To a friend and skilled surgeon my deepest gratitude,

David Disney