All I can say is, Welcome Back Home and I am so pleased to have read your message stating how wonderful Melissa is doing since her surgery in Germany! I am thrilled for her and your family as well. I will keep praying for you both special prayers that she remains adhesion free and that some day she will be able to bear children and grandchildren for you, Karen! God Bless you for being such a caring Mother! Be Proud, and Melissa should be proud she had you to be the driving force behind her health and getting better.
Lots of Love, Karen Carter
At Wed, 23 Apr 2003, Karen Steward wrote:
>
>Hello to the USA-----!!!! No place compares, except maybe Germany!
>I know many of you are wondering about Melissa. First let me say a big
>hearty thank you to all that prayed, sent messages, called Dr. Kruschins i,
>asking about Melissa (he told us each time) YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!
>Thanks to all that sent letters of encouragement for Melissa's surprise ook
>of inspiration! You should have seen the frenzy at the office RIGHT befo e
>leaving
>for the airport! Miranda, (daughter) and I were 2 wild, crazy women,thro ing
>pages
>everywhere, sticking cute little stickers on the e mails, scanning in ph tos
>of Melissa's
>family and dogs for collage pages, making a cover, etc.and all the while my
>husband
>was being his usual self--saying we had to LEAVE. (Why do men do this??) We
>were
>not stressed until he started in--then everything got chaotic--lost the eys
>to the car. etc.
>That REALLY made him happy! We got to the airport with a good 10 minutes to
>spare before boarding. No problem! Anyway, I have not been able to read ny
>posts,
>(internet down) but, thanks especially to Anthea, Carolyn, Tonya & Lynn.
>You are the
>ones I know for sure that I need to say thanks to!! I will thank everyo e
>else personally as I am able to read this messed up service! UGH! Anyway,
>the book was WELL worth the effort!!
>The look on her face was GREAT!! She cried, cried and cried. Put it down to
>stop crying, had it an hour later and cried and cried again. It was such a
>big encouragement to her, reading all the nice letters from her family a d
>so many of you, writing as if you had known her forever! I know you know her
>pain--and that makes an unfortunate, but common ground. I had to tell
>her all about each one of you as she read!! lol...and now, she is ready o
>look at the adhesion sites and post a message! She felt as if she knew e ch
>one of you, and cried with many of you.Thanks to everyone!
>We are home, slept a few hours (much needed)--it is 2:00 am here and I am
>wide awake once
>again, so came to the computer and UGH..it has gotten all messed up
>since I left.......can't get on any sites, read the boards, can't reach y
>Aussie
>friends at Bombobeach. I am attempting to post a message on the IAS and
>hopefully it will post.
>
>I don't know where to begin, but I know women want all the details! Here
>goes:
>
>We arrived in Frankfurt after a 9 hour flight. Melissa had developed one of
>her
>typical migraines in flight. She was in total misery, getting close to t e
>throwing
>up stage. We found our lady waiting, just as we had been told, with an
>EndoGyn sign.
>(Melissa laughed at this--saying, "Well, everyone knows WHY we are here! ) I
>am going
>to encourage Dr. Kruschinski to change his sign to "Babes Arriving from
>America".....lol.....
>
>The EndoGyn sign lady had a beautiful face and smile and knew quickly
>Melissa was very
>ill. Her name was Steffi--she was a trooper, grabbing luggage and helpin so
>Melissa could just get to the car.
>
>We arrived in Seligenstadt at Dr. Kruschinski's office just as another
>American couple
>had arrived. We were taken to the apartment and given an hour to rest (t row
>up, etc....!!!!!!)..........then Michaela, the nurse, arrived and told
>Melissa she MUST get up and go for EKG, blood tests, etc., as surgery was
>scheduled for the next day.
>
>So, off we went, Melissa vomiting several times at each lab, Klinik, etc I
>felt like
>the mom from hell.......you all know how you feel when your child is
>suffering and
>you know YOU are the one that got them into this! I knew Melissa was in a
>fog,
>because of the pain and we were just leading her in and out of each plac . I
>will
>say that the lab and Klinik, both, came running with anti-nausea medicat ons
>in an
>effort to help her. Neither worked---but it was comforting to know they
>CARED!
>
>Next we were to meet Dr. Kruschinski to discuss surgery. We arrived back at
>his
>office and upon meeting him, and he, seeing Melissa's condition, told us to
>"go rest and we will discuss in the morning before surgery".........wow! Now
> this is
>a guy I like. We all know, most USA doctors do not adjust their schedule to
>meet your
>silly pain!! (Sorry, couldn't resist)
>
>Melissa was a little better the next morning and we promptly discussed
>surgery.
>I have to say this was the first time I felt total confidence prior to
>surgery. Dr. Kruschinski
>is warm, kind, caring and confident in his skill. He assessed Melissa's
>history (that
>is such a mess) and assured us that she would go home from Germany ADHES ON
>FREE. He is very open, does not rush through any of the discussion, smil s a
>lot,
>(don't we like a doctor that smiles???!!!----that in itself is SO exciti g),
>he exudes a
>human compassion for the patient. He shakes your hand many times (someth ng
>I
>really liked and appreciated)........he also never excluded me. He has t e
>ability to explain
>everything in detail to the patient, but was never offended if I, (the
>non-patient)
>asked a question. (Most of you know the stigma that a mom of an ADULT
>patient carries
>in the USA)............. At each conclusion, he shook Melissa's hand and my
>hand. Each and
>every time, we were treated with respect and dignity and were given ample
>opportunity
>to ask questions.
>
>Being that Melissa has been ill since age 13, and knowing that prior
>surgeries have not
>helped, Melissa went to Germany, for the most part, because of the old
>snorting, pushing
>bull behind her (me)....lol.....she had reached the conclusion she would
>always be sick,
>no one would (could) help her, was not convinced that adhesions were here
>problem
>(even though we have photos of severe pelvic adhesions with bowel
>involvement, that
>were lasered "out" (????) in her prior US surgeries).
>
>Dr. Kruschinski performed surgery, finding and removing adhesions from t e
>large and
>small intestines, liver, diaphragm, stomach, and pelvic area. SprayGel w s
>applied to
>all areas. Photos of the adhesed areas were provided, along with photos f
>the blue
>SprayGel areas. For those that may not know, Spray Gel is applied after he
>adhesions are taken down by adhesiolysis. On her second look, 7 days lat r,
>one other area was found and a
>little more surgery was required. Again, photos were provided of this
>surgery. The rest of the
>second look photos showed an AMAZING, healthy looking, bowel, tissues, l ver
> etc. I look at these photos over and over. The difference is unbelievab e.
>Her insides look shiny, healthy and well!
>We were so afraid her female organs had been destroyed by adhesions (fir t
>surgery in US showed severe adhesions of the pelvis, with all reproducti e
>organs adhered together, bowels attached to bladder, uterus, and fallopi n
>tubes that were so adhesed they bulged; unable to empty). Her pelvic are s
>look almost completely normal now!! The area looks healthy and it is
>wonderful to see normal looking organs, no nasty saran-wrap type adhesio s,
>no bloody sores, etc. like we have seen in the past. Dr. Kruschinski has no
>doubt she can conceive!
>
>How does Melissa FEEL? She has not had a migraine since the day of
>surgery!!YEAH!! (she had previously had DAILY headaches---many turning i to
>migraines); she has not said, "I feel sick",
>or "I feel sick-I shouldn't have eaten" (we had previously heard that EV RY
>time she ate),
>and has not felt nauseated since surgery!!!!! HOORAY!!! Melissa had dealt
>with nausea
>every day for the last 13 years! Dr. Kruschinski said the nausea and
>headaches are a
>result of the adhesions on the stomach, liver, etc. She has also began
>sleeping completely through the night after surgery; a welcome relief! A d
>yesterday she told me, "It's weird, but I
>feel like it is easier to breathe".........(adhesions on the diaphragm m de
>simple breathing
>a more struggled effort)...........on the flight home she told me that
>something" was definitely
>"different" in her stomach since surgery. She said, "I realize my whole
>belly is real relaxed and I
>can no longer feel my intestines inside---is that normal?" Then she adde ,
>Can't you feel
>your intestines?"---"I could always feel mine and now I can't."
>
> Because her intestines have been wrapped up in adhesions for so many ye rs,
>she thought everyone could "feel" their intestines!! She is adjusting to new
>sensations (pain-free)!! I can tell it will take a little while for the dea
>and sensation of HEALTH to become Melissa. She has little recollection of
>early, pain-free childhood. The misery had gone on so long, she is havin to
>take this new feeling in bits and pieces. I will gladly allow her that t me!
>
>I will finish up by saying there are no words to express my gratitude to Dr.
>Kruschinski!! A "thank-
>you" seems so inadequate! A hand-shake and a hug are not enough either! ow
>can I express thanks to someone that has the skill, knowledge, ability,
>compassion, and GIFT to give
>me back my daughter? Nothing in this world can adequately express what I
>feel, or what our
>family feels. He's the best of the best!
>
>I have learned through our experience/trip that it is not Germany, the
>AbdoLift or SprayGel that has restored my daughter. Germany is only the
>country in which you must go to reach Dr. Kruschinski! The AbdoLift and
>Spraygel and equipment he uses are only the tools! Yes, they are all
>necessary and must come together for surgery and we all thank God for the
>AbdoLift and SprayGel, and proper equipment (that US doctors do not have ,
>however, I know in my heart, you can place the proper tools in another
>person's hand and not get the same results!!! We all know gifted people hat
>can paint a picture on a canvas, but just because we place a brush in
>another's hand and even give them proper instruction, we know we won't h ve
>the painting of the artist!! Dr. Kruschinski is a gifted artist of his
>profession!!
>He has the eye of an artist to see the detail of the adhesion pain! He h s
>the mind to understand the sufferer's pain! He has the skill to apply the
>technique in the proper fashion to get the RESULT that is so desperately
>needed! I believe his mind, his eyes and his hands are a gift from God t at
>many people have prayed for! We all know too well how many doctors have
>TRIED (and many times with good intentions) to "rid" the ARD sufferer of the
>pain---but, how many can say they went into surgery KNOWING the doctor w uld
>give them his 100% effort to remove pain caused by adhesions? Dr.
>Kruschinski was as,(or more), excited as I, to hear Melissa say her pain was
>gone! I loved his enthusiasm and anticipation of the end results! He cam in
>after surgery, smiling, and asking, "How do you feel--only surgery pain,
>yes??" I LOVED THAT!!! As soon as he shook our hands and left, I was over
>her bed saying, "Only surgery pain, yes!!!??" We were both laughing. She
>was sore and couldn't decide how she felt! Dr. Kruschinski has a zeal I ave
>NEVER seen in a doctor in the US. (And we have been to COUNTLESS). He pa ses
>his enthusiasm to the family member and the patient. He KNOWS he removed the
>pain, pulling, tugging, nausea causing, migraine resulting, (and a host f
>other symptoms in different people) horrible adhesions! I love a person hat
>loves their work and goes forth with zeal, gusto and EXPECTATION of RESU TS
>from that work! It is his business, his life. Dr. Kruschinski gives his ll,
>going beyond expectation, running after hours, calling and checking on e ch
>patient. He is a master of his profession. A skillful artist indeed. An to
>this artist, Dr. Daniel Kruschinski, my hat is off, my tears haven't sto ped
> and I must say I will forever be grateful! Our family is SOOOO grateful
>too!! Many tears were shed yesterday at the airport!! (Hey, they REALLY
>missed us)
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Karen Steward
>
>P.S. Melissa is on NO pain medications......now, how about that???
>