The decision has been made
N 44°26'48.2'' E 026°03'41,6''Events from 05.07.2006
“I’m going to have an operation here,” I say to Tanja as she wakes up next to me. “How did you come to this decision?” “I can’t move at all anymore. I can’t even lift my head up anymore and you’ve had to feed me for days. It’s terrible. The pain is eating me up. My calf seems to explode at any moment and my foot is falling asleep more and more. If we don’t do anything now, I won’t have to have an operation in Germany. Then it will be too late.” “Do you think the nerve will die?” asks Tanja in an anxious voice. “Yes,” I answer and have to cry terribly. Tanja strokes my wet and sweaty head. Her tears are also rolling down her face. No wonder. For 8 days she has been feeding me, washing me and pushing the bowl under me without recognizing the slightest success in her patient’s recovery. The strain is also enormous for them. I wouldn’t want to be in their place. I can’t imagine if she were in my position and I had to look after Tanja like that. I wouldn’t know if I was up to the challenge.
“We’ll call Dr. Weijnen in Germany and ask him if he can take a look at the images. If he thinks the back needs an operation, we’ll have confirmation,” I ponder aloud. “How will the recordings get to Germany so quickly?” “I’m sure Dr. Baltateanu can send them by email. That’s no longer a problem,” I say with conviction. We immediately take action and call Dr. Weijnen in Nuremberg. We are lucky, he is in his practice. I explain to him what has happened. As he has been treating me for 15 years and knows me well, he is initially shocked. “How do you feel about your surgeon?” he wants to know. “Very good. We trusted him right from the start,” I reply, tormented by the attacks of pain. “Then he’s the right doctor for you. I know many unknown surgeons who do a fantastic job. Send me the MRI scans. I’ll take a look at them and call you back on this number,” he offers. We are relieved. “This Dr. Weijnen is a fantastic man. A doctor who helps in an emergency, even for free,” I say with relief.
After the visit, Dr. Baltateanu promised to send the images to Germany immediately and the phone actually rang at around 3 pm. “Her Katzer?” “Yes.” “Weijnen, I’ve watched the recordings. The transmission worked perfectly. Well, I think you should definitely have the operation.” “Are you sure?” “Yes. As I said, your trust in Dr. Baltateanu is important. And you have that. He also seemed very competent to me on the phone. Ultimately, however, I can’t take the decision away from you.” “Yes, you’re right. You’ve helped us a lot.” “You’re welcome. I wish you the best of luck with the operation. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for them. And Mr. Katzer?” “Yes?” “Don’t worry so much. I’m sure you’ll soon be feeling very well again. After such operations, the results are sometimes miraculous,” he says goodbye.
Immediately after the phone call, we give Dr. Baltateanu the green light for the operation. “If you want, I’ll relieve you of your pain tomorrow,” he suggests. “A good idea,” Tanja replies, to which I nod my head in confirmation now that the decision has been made. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow at 3 p.m.,” Dr. Baltateanu says with a laugh.
